Binding Ties
by Eclipse of the Sun
Summary: Sequel to By the Fire of the Sun. Binding ties will be tested and broken, and the sun may rise only after justice is served.
1. AllegiancesPrologue

**A/N:** Behold, reviewers: the allegiances and prologue for _Binding Ties_. I was sparse in listing the Clan cats other than ThunderClan, but it's waste of my time to think up names of cats I'll never mention. Also, I need votes: since I began writing _By the Fire of the Sun _before Starlight came out, I made up my own territories. Should I switch to the forest of the real Warriors books, or stick to my own? Majority will rule, so please advise.

;-;-;-;

**ThunderClan**

Leader: Mudstar: mottled brown tom

Deputy: Sunfire: beautiful golden-red she-cat; green eyes

Medicine Cat: Rootclaw: small brown she-cat

Warriors: Jaywing: thickset blue-gray tom

Quickriver: pale brown she-cat

Badgerclaw: brindled gray tom with a black face and a white stripe up his nose and forehead

Icestorm: handsome tom with medium-long, silver-tipped white fur; deep blue eyes

Raintail: small white she-cat with a long, gray tail; pale blue eyes

Morningcloud: stocky she-cat with _very_ pale gray, almost white, fur --_Apprentice, Hailpaw_

Rustystripe: dark orange tabby tom

Softsteps: cream-colored she-cat; amber eyes

Fogdrift: thickset dark gray tom

Granitestone: brindled gray tom with black rings around his eyes and white feet _–Apprentice, Dapplepaw_

Flickerpool: pretty, sleek black she-cat with dark gold throat, chest, and underbelly; bright yellow eyes

Frozenstream: she-cat with deep green eyes and medium-long white fur tipped with silver (dusting of dark gray fur along flanks and forehead)

Firestorm: dark golden-red tom; deep blue eyes

Apprentices: Dapplepaw: tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat with white legs and distinct black paws

Hailpaw: thickset white tom, peppered with many shades of gray

Queens: Yellowflower: yellow she-cat; the oldest nursery queen

Dewdrop: spotted silver tabby she-cat (_Kit: Copperkit) _

Nightwhisker: long-haired black she-cat _(expecting kits)_

Elders: Sorrelflower: tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat; the oldest cat in ThunderClan

Treeshadow: dark gray tabby tom, formerly the medicine cat

**RiverClan**

Leader: Ravenstar: sleek black she-cat

Deputy: Ringthroat: dark gray tabby tom; thick ring of white fur around neck and throat

Medicine Cat: Fastwind: tom, white with brown patches --_Apprentice, Thornpaw _

Warriors: Acornfur: dark brown tom

Ashstreak: pale gray she-cat with darker streaks --_Apprentice, Beechpaw _

Dustyflower: pale brown spotted tabby she-cat

Whitewind: swift white she-cat

Rockclaw: long-haired gray tabby tom

Queens: Hollyberry: tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat

**ShadowClan: **

Leader: Hickorystar: dark brown tom

Deputy: Foxtooth: very dark ginger tom --_Apprentice, Mosspaw _

Medicine Cat Lightfoot: dark gold she-cat

Warriors: Rosefur: calico she-cat

Prickerfang: brown-gray tom

Whirlwind: tom with mottled gray, black, white, and ginger fur

Racingstream: swift, pale gray she-cat --_Apprentice, Chestnutpaw _

Queens: Waterspeckle: white she-cat, speckled with silver

**WindClan:**

Leader: Reedstar: pale creamy-brown tom

Deputy: Streamrush: silver spotted tabby she-cat

Medicine Cat: Onyxstone: black tom

Warriors: Willowstream: long-haired gray she-cat

Glintfur: black she-cat sprinkled with gold --_Apprentice, Maplepaw _

Owlfeather: lithe, dark brown tom

Queens: Breezeflower: very pale brown tabby she-cat

**Cats Outside Clans:**

Pinefur: mottled brown-and-gray she-cat; a loner, formerly of RiverClan _(Kit: Woodsmoke)_

Woodsmoke: light brown spotted tabby tom; about four moons old

Briar: brown spotted tabby tom; Pinefur's mate

Hawkclaw: mottled red-and-brown tom; a rogue formerly of ThunderClan

Bracken That Grows In Moorland (Bracken): golden-brown tom of the Tribe, temporarily living with ThunderClan

;-;-;-;

A nearly full moon hung in the velvet sky, casting its silver glow upon the forest. Thin, ragged clouds drifted across the sky, partially shrouding the moon, dimming its light only slightly. A thin drizzle fell, silver droplets streaming smoothly down the nearly-leafless trees. A crisp chill was carried through the forest on a light breeze.

Two cats raced silently through the forest, one lithe, the other stocky. The slender one, a she-cat, dashed after her companion, her paws skimming over the rain-dampened ground. The tom, ahead of her, had his long, banner-like tail streaming out behind him. He glanced over his shoulder, saw how close his pursuer was, and sped up.

The pair had been sticking to the shadows, but now the tom darted into a wide pool of moonlight. His two-tone fur shimmered with a dazzling light, silver as the stars above. Sensing he was no longer being chased, his ceased running and looked around.

His pursuer had dropped like a stone, and lay hidden in a swath of ferns. Heart pounding with the thrill of the chase, she breathed quickly but silently, her eyes fixed on the white-silver tom. She gazed admiringly at the way the tom's pelt glimmered in the moonlight, but she was not jealous; her own pelt blazed like flame when she stood in full sunlight.

The tom slowly began retracing his steps, his deep blue gaze sweeping the undergrowth. The she-cat tensed, and with hardly a tell-tale rustle, flew out of the ferns and pounced heavily on the tom, bowling him over. The pair tumbled across the pool of moonlight, losing momentum one tail-length away from the shadows. Panting slightly, the she-cat stepped off the tom, waving her tail merrily. The tom rolled to his feet, shaking scraps of moss and dirt from his pelt.

"StarClan above!" he murmured. "I feel like an apprentice again." He looked at his companion. "It's been too long since we ran through the forest together like this, Sunfire."

Sunfire, now grooming her disheveled fur, snorted and said dryly, "Well, Mudstar expects his warriors to act like he does: just going about their duties, never taking a break." She picked a sizeable wad of earth out of her fur, spat it out, and continued, "He's hardly let us sleep since that rogue attack; forget about spending time with our friends, we have to renew the scent markings every ten heartbeats!" She shook herself. "For StarClan's sake, the rogues attacked _two moons _ago! You'd think he could give it a _rest_!"

Icestorm shrugged. "He's just doing what he thinks it best." He padded to Sunfire's side and brushed his cheek against hers to calm her. After a moment he said quietly, "You just don't believe he's as good a leader as Lightningstar was."

Sunfire lifted a lip. "I don't agree with the way he leads the Clan. He makes a better deputy than leader."

Icestorm said nothing, only nudged Sunfire gently. "Come on," he mewed. "I bet the lake looks great tonight, even with the clouds and rain." He began to lead the way.

Sunfire followed. "At least Mudstar gave them good warrior names," she said, referring to their children. She swelled with pride at the thought of her kits, who had received their warrior names at sundown yesterday. She would have liked to have mentored one of them herself, but she knew such a thing was rarely done. Besides, the mentors they had received were good: Jaywing for Firestorm, Nightwhisker for Flickerpool, and Rustystripe for Frozenstream.

She took a deep breath of the night air. Despite the chill, the rain dampening her coat, and the mud and soggy moss collecting between her toes, Sunfire was content; this was truly the first real moment of peace she'd gotten in so long.

Reaching the lakeshore, she settled on a clump of dying ferns and, after giving Icestorm a purr and lick on the ear, gazed up at the sky. The rain clouds were thickening, and the drizzle strengthening; Sunfire suspected it could be a full downpour before dawn. Only the faintest glow of the moon was visible now, and the unlit lake surface was ink-black. Ripples caused by raindrops were all over the water, tiny waves that died out within heartbeats.

A flicker of movement near the center of the lake caught Sunfire's eye; turning her head slightly, she squinted against the rain, but all she could discern was a darkish smudge. She glanced at Icestorm to see if he had noticed it too, but he had twisted his neck up and was staring absently at the overcast sky.

Her pulse quickened as the smudge came closer at a rapid pace; in ten heartbeats, she recognized Firestar coming towards her. He trotted lightly across the water, ripples dispersing from where his paws struck the lake. Sunfire tried to look over at Icestorm again, but she had become immobile.

Firestar stopped two tail-lengths from the shore, his emerald eyes glimmering even in the dark. Sunfire tried to speak, but could not even open her jaws. A wave of irritation washed over her; she had not seen Firestar for moons, and when the great leader finally appeared before her, the first thing he did was work some magic of StarClan and render her paralyzed and speechless?

"_I am sorry I have not been able to speak to you, Sunfire." _His voice, deep and regal, was inside her head, as always. _"I have been preoccupied up in Silverpelt. I have been seeing flashes of the future in the gazing-pool, and these glimpses have unsettled me. I have spent much of my time trying to understand them, and if they bode ill or good." _

"_Why have you come now?" _thought Sunfire, beginning to feel unnerved. She had always looked her ancestor in the eye when he spoke to her, but now, meeting his gaze made her neck fur rise with uneasiness. Perhaps it was because she had no choice but to look at him.

His eyes glinted with an intensity that Sunfire had never seen before. He recited what sounded like the words to an old story, one he had told so many times he now spoke the words with a certain rhythm: _"A forgotten predator will return. Binding ties will be tested and broken, and the sun may rise only after justice is served." _He paused, then said quietly, _"Remember that, Sunfire. Now farewell." _With a wave of his tail, he vanished instantly.

Sunfire quivered slightly. Firestar's words had sent shivers down her spine, even if she did not know what they meant. A single thing was clear in her mind: another prophecy had risen in the forest, one it seemed she alone knew about.

Up in the sky, a single star twinkled through the clouds.


	2. Familiarities

**A/N: **Hey! I finally got this up! In a nutshell, my computer went kaplooie just when I'd nearly finished this. I lost all my files, and the new computer didn't come until a few days ago. My deepest and sincerest apologies. This is pretty short, but I figured I needed to get _something _up.

Thanks for reviews, as always. You guys keep me going.

;-;-;-;

**Chapter 2: Familiarities **

A lithe shape wound through the undergrowth. Eyes glinting, the cat shook a glob of sticky mud off a forepaw, flicked rainwater off her ears, and moved on.

A flutter of movement caught her eye; tensing, sliding into the hunting crouch, Sunfire pulled herself forward, her eyes fixed on the small gray finch. When she was three tail-lengths from it, she lunged, her powerful hind legs easily propelling her long body across the distance. With a small snap, the finch's neck broke; Sunfire picked it up, scraped out a shallow hole, and buried it.

"Nice catch." Flickerpool slid out from behind a patch of dying ferns, her sleek, night-black body blending smoothly with the shadows. She padded out into the sunlight, her lightning-yellow eyes gleaming. "I'm not used to such poor prey," she added.

Sunfire looked up. "You were born at the end of last leaf-bare," she said. "You grew up around plentiful prey." She swiped her tongue around her jaws, and then muttered, "Prey'll be much scarcer soon, even if it is a late frost."

Flickerpool shrugged, unworried. "ThunderClan is strong," she said simply. "We will survive." With that, she padded lightly to the edge of the lake, sniffing the reeds.

Sunfire stared after her daughter. Even though her sister Frozenstream was the physical mirror image of Icestorm, Flickerpool's attitude was directly that of her father's. Perpetually calm and collected, she was frequently a quiet yet certain voice of reason.

"Hey," called Flickerpool suddenly. "Come and smell this." She was buried up to her shoulders in the lakeshore reeds, her tail waving in uncertainty.

Sunfire padded over, intrigued. "What is it?"

The black warrior looked up, confusion clouding her eyes. "Cat-scent, not any of the Clans, but it doesn't carry rogue-stench either." Sunfire stepped into the reeds, put her nose close to the damp ground, and sniffed deeply. The scent was faint; likely the cat had passed by at dawn, and the moisture from the lake had nearly eliminated the smell. She could tell the cat was a tom, young, and definitely not Clanborn, but with a ripple of irritation found she could not determine his origins.

She stepped deeper into the reeds, puzzled yet intrigued. Opening her mouth, she wove through the tall, stiff grass following what remained of the scent trail until a blast of RiverClan scent hit her scent-glands. Lashing her tail in annoyance, she stepped away from the border line.

"Can you tell who he was?" asked Flickerpool.

"No, the trail's too poor. It's vaguely familiar, though," Sunfire added. Indeed, the scent nudged at some distant corner of her mind, like she should be able to name the scent but could not remember properly. She searched her mind, sniffed at the ground again, but came up empty.

"Maybe just a loner," suggested Flickerpool. "Still, we should tell Mudstar and Darkcloud."

Sunfire nodded. She would have preferred to follow the scent into RiverClan territory, but did not feel like chancing across a patrol. The scent was far too familiar for her to dismiss easily, but she could hardly go strutting into another Clan's territory because she didn't want to lose the scent.

_It'll come to me eventually._

;-;-;-;

The forest was in early new-leaf; new buds were on the trees, pale green and pink. The ground smelled damp from snow-melt and recent rain, and Sunfire could see new ferns unfurling.

But she could not name her location.

There was no scent of ThunderClan around her, though there was a faint scent of RiverClan on the breeze. Looking around, she saw only unfamiliar trees, and heard a great rushing of water. A stream passed by the ThunderClan camp, but it never produced a sound so great as the one she heard now.

Another sound reached her ears: a high, thin wail of sudden fear; a cat in danger.

A pulse of adrenaline coursing through her, Sunfire bounded towards the noise, trying to pinpoint it, but the great rush of water and a strange echo both muffled the noise and made it bounce around.

With the rush of water growing louder, Sunfire wove gracefully through the new undergrowth, elegant even in her instinctual dash to aid a cat in danger. Hurtling over a fallen tree, Sunfire gasped, extended her claws, and dug her forepaws into the soft earth as she landed.

The land dropped suddenly, the edge of the deep dip hidden by the downed tree. The ground, soft and heavy with the water it had absorbed, began to give way under Sunfire's weight. Claws extended, Sunfire scrabbled back, her heart pounding as she looked over the edge.

A river cut through the gorge, churning and swollen with melted snow. Fierce rocks jutted up from the dark water, and just by looking Sunfire could tell the river possessed such a strong current that no cat could swim it.

Another shriek rose above the rush of the river, and a thrashing movement caught her eye. Cold fear rushed through Sunfire, freezing her in her place: a dark-pelted cat stood atop the opposite edge of the gorge, many fox-lengths across from her; another cat dangled from the precipice, hind legs scrabbling frantically, trying and failing to get purchase on the cliff's slick, muddy side. The dark cat reached out suddenly, smacking the dangling cat's head with a forepaw. As Sunfire watched, horrified, the second cat lost its grip on the cliff and fell, its body twisting as it instinctively tried to right itself. Within heartbeats, the fallen cat had been swallowed up by the river and did not emerge.

Frightened and furious that the other cat had caused its companion to fall, Sunfire looked over at other side of the cliff. The dark cat still stood, peering curiously over the lip of the gorge. It flicked its tail, and slowly turned and vanished into the forest beyond.

"Sunfire?"

Jerking her head up, Sunfire found herself staring into Raintail's pale blue gaze. Panting, her muscles tight, Sunfire stared wildly around; she was curled tightly in her nest, but deep scratch marks were scored across the bare earth in front of her. Flexing her paws, she realized she must have clawed at the den floor as she slept.

"You alright?" asked Raintail worriedly, her dark gray tail fluffed out slightly.

Sunfire stood slowly, picking dirt out of her claws. "A dream," she muttered. "Don't worry about it; I just dreamed I was fighting a rogue." Looking around the den, Sunfire was relieved to see that only one other warrior occupied his nest: Granitestone, Badgerclaw's son, and the deepest sleeper in the Clan.

Raintail stepped back, appearing somewhat reassured. "Well, when you're ready, Darkcloud's sent us hunting. Meet you at the slope-top?"

Sunfire nodded. "Just let me wash." As Raintail turned away, though, Sunfire's whiskers trembled slightly; she thought she recognized the dark-pelted cat from her dream, a cat she had not even thought of for moons.

Hawkclaw.

;-;-;-;


	3. Kin, Old and New

**A/N: **Thanks for reviews! Updates might be slow; I'm really busy now. My sadistic history teacher gives us head-bashing amounts of homework, I'm part of the crew for my high school's play so I don't leave school until 6 pm, I still have to do housework, and…well, I'm busy.

I'll shut up now and let you read this….

;-;-;-;

**Chapter 3: Kin, Old and New**

Sunfire returned from the patrol she'd led, a fat vole clutched in her jaws. Fogdrift and Quickriver followed behind her, carrying a rabbit and two jays, respectively. The scent of Sunfire's vole mingled with another scent in her nose, the scent of a foreign cat. Near the WindClan border, she had found the same familiar-strange cat-scent that Flickerpool had first noticed three dawns ago.

Sunfire was irritated by her own inability to properly place the scent. It nagged at a distant corner of her mind, a vague, hazy recognition that she could not fully grasp. Even after following the trail all along the border with WindClan, she could still only determine that the cat was male and not Clanborn. Like the first time she'd encountered the scent, the cat had walked by hours earlier, the trail mostly faded. Quickriver and Fogdrift both found the scent familiar as well, but neither could name it. Fogdrift went with Flickerpool's theory of the tom being a rogue they had once fought.

Sunfire knew better.

She just didn't know the cat.

Still pondering the smell, she dropped her vole on the fresh-kill pile, started away, doubled back, then picked it up again and carried to her usual eating spot. Morningcloud padded over, her pale gray fur glinting in the sun.

"Hello," she mewed cheerfully to Sunfire, settling down with a mouse. Sunfire, her mouth full of vole, could only give a friendly nod. Morningcloud looked around furtively, and then leaned close to Sunfire's ear.

"I was out on my patrol when I saw Pinefur," the former Tribe she-cat whispered. "She asked me to send for you."

Sunfire brightened; she had not seen her old friend in nearly three moons. Pinefur's territory was on the far side of RiverClan's, and Ravenstar had made it plain that she would not tolerate Pinefur strolling across her land to visit ThunderClan. The only other way was to walk along the border separating RiverClan and empty, unclaimed land, a trip that took over half a day.

"Where is she?" asked Sunfire. "I hope she arranged a meeting place."

Morningcloud nodded. "She is at the very edge of the Rock Valley, near Alexander's land," she answered. "She said if you do not arrive by sundown, she will be waiting for you until sunhigh tomorrow."

Though pleased at the prospect of seeing her friend, Sunfire frowned. It sounded like something serious had happened if Pinefur was willing to linger all night at the edges of two territories that were not her own.

Looking at the sky, Sunfire rose, deciding she had time to make the trip. "I'm going now," she mewed to Morningcloud. "Thanks for telling me." The gray warrior nodded, then returned to her mouse.

Sunfire was nearly at the top of the slope when Mudstar called her name. Gritting her teeth, hoping he wasn't about to assign her to a patrol on the other side of the territory, Sunfire turned and bowed her head. "Yes, Mudstar?"

He returned the head dip then said, "If you're going out, just remember I've chosen you for the Gathering tonight." His amber eyes held the respect a leader gave to his warriors that deserved it, and Sunfire knew that even if she disagreed with his leadership sometimes, Mudstar still acknowledged her respectfully.

"I'll be back," she promised, then turned and headed for the Rock Valley.

;-;-;-;

Jumping nimbly from boulder to boulder, Sunfire was a golden-red streak against the dark gray-black rocks that jutted up from the dusty ground. She was soon enjoying herself, not really heading for the edges of the granite field but merely testing how far she could spring, feeling a brief flash of fear when her paws scrabbled at the lip of a smooth rock before she hauled herself up. Standing straight and proud, her tail raised in confidence, she scented the air for Pinefur.

_Wait…_

She cocked her head in puzzlement, then stretched her neck up to sniff the air again. She could smell Pinefur, but the loner smelled…different, somehow. Stepping up higher on the rock, Sunfire scented the air again. Pinefur, who had always carried the sharp, fresh scent of the tree she was named for, now smelled…softer.

Slowly waving her tail in confusion, Sunfire pondered this for a moment before shaking herself briskly and padded neatly to the edge of the rocks, following Pinefur's scent.

As she walked closer to the end of the granite field, Sunfire paused for a moment; there was another cat's scent on the breeze, no cat she recognized. Her neck fur rising in anticipation of trouble, Sunfire stalked around a fallen, rotting tree, doing a visual sweep of the area but seeing nothing but undergrowth. A growl rumbled low in her throat.

"Sunfire!"

Turning, Sunfire waved her tail as she saw Pinefur trotting towards her. Her friend looked no different than usual, but her scent was certainly odd. Padding over, Sunfire touched noses with Pinefur before pulling back and scanning the undergrowth again.

Pinefur noticed and frowned. "What is it?"

"Can't you smell that? There's a tom here that doesn't belong."

Pinefur shook her head rapidly. "Oh, no. It's fine. It's only Briar. He won't hurt anyone or steal prey."

Sunfire faced Pinefur, squinting in confusion. "Who--?"

Before she could finish, Pinefur interrupted. "You'll see; just come." Her eyes sparkled. "I've wanted to tell you for so long, but I just couldn't make it here. Come on; it won't take long." With a happy flick of her tail, Pinefur trotted eagerly over to a dense bush, leaped over it, and vanished. No less confused, Sunfire hastened after her. As she headed for the bush, she took a deep breath of Pinefur's scent.

_Milk? She hasn't got kits…?_

Clearing the bush, anticipation prickling her paw pads, Sunfire saw Pinefur crouching against a smooth, rounded boulder. A long-bodied tom stood next to her protectively, his palest brown coat covered in darker tabby spots. Looking down, Sunfire saw a single kit nestled between Pinefur's paws.

Gaping silently, Sunfire looked from one cat to the other until Pinefur said awkwardly, "This…this is Briar, Sunfire." She indicated the grown tom, who nodded politely, his ears sideways in growing discomfort. "And…this is Woodsmoke." She nuzzled the kit, a tiny copy of his father, then looked up at Sunfire as though seeking approval.

Looking at the kit, Sunfire estimated it was about a moon old. Its eyes were open, but had not yet changed color from kit-blue. Looking at Pinefur, Sunfire purred.

"I'm happy for you," she murmured honestly, stepping closer to Woodsmoke and sniffing his pelt. The tiny tom squirmed away from her, frightened by her unfamiliar scent. Pinefur tucked him close to her chest.

"It was a pretty big risk, bringing him here," Briar said suddenly, "but Pinefur wanted you to see him. She speaks of you often, and I know how close you two must be."

Pinefur purred and turned to Sunfire. "I should've waited until he was older," she said. "I know it would have been much safer, but…I just needed you to know."

Sunfire nodded. She _was_ surprised that any cat, especially sensible Pinefur, would spend almost a whole day carrying a practically newborn kit to a place they might not be welcomed. Then again, she was touched that Pinefur had wanted to come to her. At least her friend had traveled with her mate to lend extra claws if danger came about.

Looking at the sky, Sunfire said, "I'm not trying to push you away, Pinefur, but there's a Gathering tonight and Mudstar's chosen me to go. You should also leave before the sundown patrol comes," she added. "We don't often patrol here, but Mudstar might have decided to send a patrol here tonight."

Pinefur nodded solemnly, getting to her feet. "I'm just glad I got to see you, friend," she mewed, touching her nose to Sunfire's. "It's been too long."

Sunfire turned her whiskers down in regret. "I want to stay and talk, but if I don't leave now I'll miss the Gathering," she said. She sniffed little Woodsmoke again, remembering when her own kits had been so tiny. She nodded a farewell to Briar, who was picking up his son in his strong jaws. Then she turned to Pinefur and bowed her head, the respect given from one warrior to another. "Good hunting, Pinefur," she said, "And a safe journey home."

"Good hunting," returned Pinefur, her green eyes glinting in the fading light. Then she turned and, with her mate close by her side, melted away into the deepening shadows.

Sunfire stared after them, happy and sad at once, watching the small family leave. Before she turned to return to camp, she found that Woodsmoke's scent lingered in her nose, and a strange feeling of dread she could not begin to understand crept up her legs and washed through her whole body.

;-;-;-;

"Hardly the most eventful Gathering," grumbled Firestorm as Mudstar led the Clan back to camp. "We might as well have skipped it this moon. There wasn't _any _news."

"There was the news of us becoming warriors," contradicted Frozenstream, her white-gray-silver coat shining in the moonlight. "And we got to see friends from the other Clans."

"_Friends_?" snorted Firestorm. "You're too trusting, Frozenstream. The other Clans aren't our _friends_; if they were, we wouldn't need the full-moon-truce. We wouldn't all snarl at each other when we bump into patrols in the same area."

Refusing to be discouraged, Frozenstream just gave her brother's ear a flick with her tail. "Fine," she said cheerfully, "pretend like that. I know you get along just fine with those WindClan cats—you've talked to them since our first Gathering." Without waiting for a response, she dropped back to talk with Yellowflower.

"He always has to try and appear tough," murmured Icestorm from beside Sunfire. "I don't know why he always has to pretend he doesn't like cats from other Clans." He glanced at Sunfire, then added dryly, "He's my own son and I don't understand him. He protects every cat in the Clan willingly and without question, but acts like he feels he's not responsible for protecting any of them and they should all fend for themselves."

Sunfire shrugged, opening her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, she heard mews and snarls of alarm rising from the Clan. Her neck fur bristling, she reared up onto her hind legs and peered ahead, where she could see Mudstar standing midway down the slope, his tail beginning to bush out. The cats ahead of her seemed to be staring at something she could not see.

"Something's up in the camp," she hissed to Icestorm and Raintail.

Raintail, despite her nature of being nervous and tense, said, "I don't smell blood. I don't think anyone's dead."

"Then why all the fuss?" growled Badgerclaw, unsheathing his claws.

The Clan began to move forward, filtering into the camp slowly. "Let's find out, shall we?" she asked. She couldn't smell foreign cats, and as Raintail said, there was no smell of blood or death; she couldn't figure out what was causing such a stir. Her paws began to tingle unpleasantly.

Reaching the bottom of the slope, she heard small scuffling noises, then Granitestone's voice rose above the murmurings. "Hold still, you," he growled threateningly. "If you won't tell me who you are or what your business is, maybe you'll tell the Clan leader."

Knowing there was only one strange cat around, Sunfire relaxed slightly; one cat couldn't do anything, not when it was surrounded by an entire Clan. She slunk around Rootclaw and Rustystripe, scenting the air, trying to tell who was caught. A breeze drifted through the camp, and a tiny thrill of shock rippled down her spine.

It was the foreign cat whose scent Flickerpool had found. It was much stronger now, since the tom was actually present, yet Sunfire still could not place its familiarity. Stepping around Quickriver, Sunfire finally saw the tom.

His pelt was a rich golden-brown, made browner by the thick layer of dust that coated his body. His eyes, pale amber, looked familiar, as did the stocky build of his body, the shape of his face. His gaze was not fixed on Mudstar, but rather roamed around the Clan circling him, as though he was looking for a familiar face.

Mudstar, a snarl building in his throat, began, "Why have you come—"

A yowl cut him off. "Bracken!"

Turning, Sunfire saw Morningcloud standing on her hind legs, her ears erect with shock and her eyes stretched hugely. The golden-brown tom's eyes darted over to her, and when he saw her, he struggled against Granitestone's paws. "Morning!" he called, his voice filled with desperation. "Tell him to let me up!"

_Morning? _thought Sunfire, becoming more confused by the second. 'Morning' was the shortened version of Morningcloud's Tribe name, Morning of Gray Sky. The gray she-cat had gone by Morningcloud since Lightningstar had declared her a member of ThunderClan moons ago. Morningcloud plunged through the Clan, shoving past the others in an uncharacteristic display of impoliteness.

As Morningcloud's scent wafted past Sunfire, she suddenly understood, and Morningcloud's next words confirmed it.

"This is Bracken That Grows in Moorland," said Morningcloud, looking at Mudstar. "More commonly known as Bracken." She glanced at the tom, who still lay under Granitestone's powerful hold. Raising her head, Morningcloud announced, "He is my brother."

;-;-;-;


	4. A Forewarning

**A/N: **Thanks for reviews! I'm trying to get updates out fast, I really am, but I have theater until 7 o'clock pm all week, and when I get home I have to finish all my homework before I can relax.

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**A Forewarning**

Silence hung heavy over the camp. Slowly, Mudstar stepped forward, his amber eyes glowing in the moonlight. As he neared Morningcloud, the gray she-cat took a step back, looking fearful and defiant. Sunfire looked from Morningcloud to Bracken and back again; in all her time living with ThunderClan, Morningcloud had never mentioned a brother.

Mudstar stopped walking. "Granitestone," he said softly, looking at the young tom, "release him." Slowly, Granitestone sheathed his claws and slid off of Bracken's back. As Bracken pushed himself to a sitting position, flicking bits of grass off his ears, Mudstar said, "If you have no reason for being here, leave. I do not allow foreign cats to roam my lands uninvited."

Bracken opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, Quickriver snarled, "You're one of the Tribe! You have even less right to be here than an ordinary rogue!" Stalking forward, her teeth bared, she growled, "Are those of the Tribe too dense to know when they're beaten?"

The golden-brown tom's claws extended, and Morningcloud, though she'd left the Tribe long ago, narrowed her eyes to slits.

"Silence, Quickriver," snapped Mudstar, lashing his tail. Turning back to Bracken, he said, "Speak your piece, if you have one."

Sending a final glare at Quickriver, Bracken spoke up. His voice was slightly hoarse, as though he was not used to speaking. "I bring to ThunderClan news, and once you hear it you will thank me for coming to you." His voice, though low and hoarse, was certain. Looking Mudstar in the eye, he announced, "Hawkclaw is coming back. There are some in this Clan he wishes to kill."

Mews rippled through the Clan. Sunfire unsheathed her claws, her typical reaction to hearing Hawkclaw's name. The Clan had forgotten about Hawkclaw, and so had she, until her dream of a few nights ago; during the final battle with the Tribe, many Clan cats had seen Hawkclaw murder Lightningstar. Had the traitor attempted to stay, he would have been banished without question, but he had fled along with the Tribe. There had been absolutely nothing—no sight or scent—to suggest he was around for so long.

The fur on Sunfire's spine prickled as she remembered Firestar's words: _A forgotten predator will return…_

Darkcloud spoke. "How do you know this?" he asked, but his voice lacked aggression; there was only curiosity.

Bracken turned to look at the deputy. "He fled with the Tribe. He was with us for a few moons…then he was gone. He just disappeared one night. He left no trace of any kind." The Tribe tom stared into the shadows for a few long moments, remembering, before he shuddered. "The Tribe was nomadic for some time. We passed through the territories of all kinds of cats, and some of them had…stories. Stories of horrible killings. Cats were found dead, their throats shredded…with hardly any trace of what killed them." He took a deep breath, and Sunfire saw he was shaking. Looking around, she noticed that little Dapplepaw's tail had fluffed out hugely, and she was huddled close beside her brother Hailpaw. If Bracken's intent was to have a deep effect on his audience, he was succeeding. Bracken continued.

"All of the cats we ran into were terrified. Even the bravest, strongest loners were so frightened of meeting the Shadowstalker, as they called him."

"Why 'Shadowstalker'?" asked Nightwhisker in a whisper.

"Because he is never seen, never heard. He was—is—like a shadow: dark and silent."

"But he must leave _some _scent trail," argued Flickerpool. "A cat can't just decide not to leave his scent behind wherever he goes."

"And," added Icestorm, "you said he leaves'hardly any trace.' So there has to be _some _trace of him."

"I'm getting there," said Bracken wearily. "He kills only under certain conditions; when it's raining, or when there's a heavy fog to mask his scent. Some scent always lingers, though; as you said, he can't avoid that," he added to Flickerpool, dipping his head slightly.

"And you say he's coming here?" asked Raintail, her tail wavering uneasily.

Bracken nodded, then added, "And seeking to kill some of this Clan."

"How do you know?" demanded Sunfire, flattening her ears. This didn't work out, if she'd heard correctly. "You said he left your Tribe moons ago, and all you ever found of him in all that time was his scent by the loners he killed. What happened? Did he just stroll up to you out of the mist one morning and say, 'Hello, I'm going to ThunderClan territory to kill my old Clanmates, have a nice day'?"

Bracken just looked at her. "Yes." He paused, then added, "The Tribe had begun to work our way back to the mountains. I was sleeping apart from the rest of the Tribe; I smelled Hawkclaw and woke up instantly." Sunfire could understand that; Hawkclaw's vile smell, combined with the knowledge that he murdered easily, would be enough to jolt any cat into full awareness. "He was stalking right past me. I asked him where he was going, and his response was very close to what you imagined," he said, directing the last to Sunfire. "I remembered shortcuts here from all the times we attacked the Clans. I ran all night, and I know I got here before he did."

Silence followed this, until Quickriver sneered, "I think a whole Clan can overpower a single rogue."

Firestorm turned to her, curling his lips back to reveal his teeth in disbelief. "Didn't you hear a word he just said? Hawkclaw won't march into the camp; he'll hide in the shadows, waiting for one cat to walk by unsuspecting." Sunfire stared at her son, impressed; Firestorm was wont to scorn enemies and threats—even the most serious ones that even dry, sarcastic Sunfire herself dared not to take at anything less than face value—with the same contempt as Quickriver.

The rest of the Clan was silent, looking admiringly at Firestorm, who puffed his chest out proudly. Finally, Bracken broke the silence: "Quite right, young one; he will do just that. The best thing you can do—"

Mudstar cut him off. "I know how to run my Clan," he said in a low half-growl. "My warriors are capable of figuring out how to keep ourselves protected form Hawkclaw, thank you." Bracken looked taken aback slightly at Mudstar's tone, but nodded silently. Sunfire stared at Mudstar; the brown tom rarely snarled like that. Seeming to come to himself, Mudstar gave himself a shake and said, much more calmly, to Bracken: "I give you all my thanks for bringing this news to us. Hawkclaw was once a part of this Clan. I know him and his ways, and you are right; he is quite cunning. We might not have known he was here until it was too late." He bowed his head.

Sunfire felt the hair on her neck bristle at Mudstar's last words, but could not explain why. Perhaps it was the thought of Hawkclaw, hiding in the lofty branches of the trees, his mottled brown pelt blending with the bark, waiting for a lone ThunderClan warrior to walk underneath…

She came out of her thoughts as Mudstar meowed to Bracken, "You have done an honorable duty, and for that ThunderClan thanks you." He paused, then added, "You may go now."

Sunfire was not the only one who hissed sharply in disbelief. "Mudstar," said Darkcloud, in a tone that plainly conveyed he was trying to sound respectful and politely incredulous, "this cat has done an incredible deed which he did not have to do. He could have let Hawkclaw come to us without any word of warning at all, yet he rushed to us to warn us. And now you would send him away without offering any hospitality?"

"I am not questioning the nobility of Bracken's deed," replied Mudstar. His tone was calm, but a cold light shone in his amber eyes. "But we cannot allow potential enemies to linger in our camp overnight."

"If Hawkclaw is already here, won't he guess what Bracken has done if he finds him?" called Fogdrift. Without waiting for an answer, he plowed on: "I suspect he _will _guess, Mudstar, and if he guesses he will murder Bracken. Do you want a patrol to find Bracken's dead body, and know that it was _you _who sent him to his death by making him leave?"

The Clan stared at Fogdrift. Sunfire flicked her eyes from the gray tom to Mudstar and back again, tense, waiting for an explosion. Mudstar, his narrowed gaze fixed on the young warrior, gave a slight nod. "I concede your point," he said, bowing his head. Turning to Bracken, he said, "I apologize. You may stay and rest, but at sunhigh tomorrow, I will have a patrol escort you to the far edge of the territory. From there, you may return to your Tribe. I'm sure they're missing you."

Bracken nodded, looking content even though there was still an edge to Mudstar's words. "Thank you for letting me rest before I go."

Mudstar looked at the Tribe tom with narrowed eyes, as though trying to find concealed sarcasm beneath the sincerity. Apparently finding none, he nodded and slipped into his den, adjourning the meeting.

A buzz of chatter rose instantly. Some cats seemed excited, but most had looks of fright on their faces, and Hawkclaw's name was mentioned by all. Sunfire, her thoughts whirling, watched as Morningcloud led Bracken over to Rootclaw. The two she-cats exchanged mews, then the medicine cat nodded and dipped her head to Bracken. The three walked over to Rootclaw's fallen-tree den, and Sunfire guessed Bracken would be staying there until next sunhigh.

"It was good of him to have come," murmured Icestorm, watching Morningcloud scrape together some grass and moss for her brother to sleep on.

"I wonder if he knew Morningcloud was here," said Treeshadow. "She is his sister, and I wonder if that was the only reason he came: because he knew his kin was here and he felt bound to warn her."

"I'm not worried about his reasons for coming; I'm just glad he did," said Raintail, with a shiver that ran from her nose to tip of her dark gray tail. "I can just imagine what would have happened if he hadn't told us Hawkclaw was coming back."

"We may still lose some cats, or at least suffer injuries by his claws," cautioned Granitestone from behind them. "Just because we know he's going to be stalking around doesn't mean we're safe from him."

Dapplepaw, crouched beside him, squeaked and began to tremble.

"You've scared her!" hissed Frozenstream, glaring at Granitestone, who shrugged his broad shoulders yet looked slightly awkward.

"I didn't mean to," he muttered. "I'm just trying to be realistic." He slunk into the warrior's den.

"Well," sighed Softsteps, "what now?"

"We go to sleep," supplied Jaywing. "Then we wake up in the morning and keep all our eyes open for Hawkclaw."

The Clan seemed to take his words as instructions and began padding to their respective dens, many glancing over at Bracken, who was talking to Morningcloud in a low voice. Sunfire yawned hugely, but knew she would not be able to sleep; Bracken's news had fully refreshed her animosity for Hawkclaw, and reminded her of the oath she had sworn so many moons ago: that she would avenge the deaths of Hawkclaw's victims. Dragging her claws across the ground, fire rushed through her as she remembered her dream of Hawkclaw knocking a cat over the cliff. _Was that just an ordinary dream, _she wondered, _or one of my prophetic dreams?_

Sighing, she looked around and saw that Morningcloud was still speaking quietly with her brother. As she watched, Bracken lifted his eyes from Morningcloud's face and met Sunfire's gaze. There was something deep within his pale amber stare that made Sunfire shift uneasily. Feeling suddenly vulnerable, she hastened to the warrior's den and settled down between Raintail and Icestorm.

Her thoughts filled with Hawkclaw, her oath to avenge those he had murdered, and the newcomer Bracken, Sunfire did not fall asleep but remained tightly curled, wide awake, her green gaze riveted on the shadows outside the den.

She wondered what dawn would bring.


	5. A Cunning Killer

**A/N: **Thanks for reviews! To **Flametail**: Dapplepaw's a tortoiseshell-and-white with white legs and black paws. If that explanation doesn't meet your standards, too bad. Sorry for the delay (again), but one of my cats died and for a while I didn't feel like writing a fic about a murderous cat…

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**A Cunning Killer**

Though she fully expected to remain awake until dawn lightened the sky, Sunfire finally dozed off before the stars began to fade. Her sleep was uneasy; there were unsettling, disconnected images of Hawkclaw, of an unknown cat slipping off a cliff and plunging into a flooded river, of blood smeared across ice; all at once she heard the plaintive squeals of a kit, wind roaring in her ears, harsh battle cries, the booming crack of thunder—

---when complete silence fell. The abrupt, absolute quiet pounding in her ears more than the chorus of noise had, Sunfire pushed herself up. A small creek flowed smoothly on her left side; tiny silver splashes of water leapt up and glimmered in the moonlight. Weeping willows surrounded the area, silver-green branches and leaves trailing into the water. A warm, dry breeze stirred the tall grass, so unlike the cold, wet winds that had blown through the forest lately.

"Welcome, Sunfire."

Joy thrilled through Sunfire, along with a slight ache; she had not heard that voice in so many moons. Turning around, she saw Lightningstar emerge from underneath one of the willows, the thin leaves sliding over his pelt. His white fur glittered like starshine; the black patches along his head, back, and tail glinted frostily. Slowly, he padded up to her.

"This may seem rude, Sunfire, but I do not have the time for idle talk," he said quietly, reaching her side. "I have brought you to StarClan to give you a warning, and our time must not be wasted." He stood directly in front of her, his yellow eyes glinting with a seriousness and intensity that made a shiver run down Sunfire's spine.

"I have seen Hawkclaw return to the forest," he began, speaking so rapidly Sunfire could barely distinguish one word from the next. "The cat Bracken was right in saying Hawkclaw seeks to kill—but he intends to kill only one ThunderClan cat, not many."

Sunfire was hardly surprised to hear this, and guessed what Lightningstar was about to say. "Hawkclaw's as skilled a warrior as I am, but I can fight him off—"

"Hawkclaw is cunning, Sunfire," Lightningstar interrupted, "and he knows the best way to kill a cat is not to slaughter them, but to take away all they hold dear."

Sunfire opened her mouth, but hadn't an inkling of what to say. His words made her heart pound irregularly, her ears flatten back. Deep sadness now burned in Lightningstar's eyes, and both he and the forest began to darken as he spoke what proved to be his parting words:

"Sometimes great tragedies must occur if the ultimate good is to come about," he said, his voice growing distant as he melted into the complete darkness that had slid over the forest. "Please remember that, Sunfire." The faintest yellow light still shone from his eyes, but the light was not bright with hope and laughter as it often had been in life; it still burned with deep regret, but what shook Sunfire to the core was the glint of pure, earnest fear.

Fear for her.

Staring fixedly at the spot where Lightningstar had stood, Sunfire felt a great wind stirring around her, so strong it made her stagger. Numbness crept up her legs, spreading through her entire body. Inexplicably, her heart gave an agonizing jolt, and as she collapsed from the pain in her dream, her head shot up in the waking world.

Panting heavily, Sunfire felt a dull throb lingering in her chest. Looking around the den, she realized she must not have yowled in her sleep for once; not a single cat, even Icestorm right beside her, was disturbed. Shivering, though not at the cold, early-morning air that leached into the den, Sunfire slipped outside, sat down, and began licking her rumpled fur.

As she groomed herself she replayed all the disjointed images from her first dream in her mind's eye. Hawkclaw especially kept rising up, his glaring orange eyes, twin flames, standing out in his dark-furred face; Sunfire could not shake him from her thoughts.

If what Lightningstar had said was true—and Sunfire could think of no reason why he would lie to her, and she doubted he would have misinterpreted any signs—then Hawkclaw sought to torture her by killing her friends. Sunfire knew the dark tom, and Hawkclaw was not likely to lose interest in torturing her mind and heart; he wouldn't stop once he started. The only she could prevent him from murdering was to kill him first.

She knew some cats would see killing Hawkclaw as being against the warrior code, but as Sunfire saw it, murdering Hawkclaw was serving justice. The rogue had killed three ThunderClan cats in moons past—Roseleaf, Orangestripe, and Lightningstar—if Sunfire were to kill Hawkclaw, she'd be avenging the deaths of good cats, not killing in cold blood.

Finished with her grooming, Sunfire lifted her head and turned her face to the rising sun. _Yes_, she thought grimly. _He has to be killed, and I have to do it. _She'd sworn to avenge the cats Hawkclaw had murdered, after all; as a warrior, she had to see that she carried out the promises she made.

Though she'd always been a cat of impulse, rarely formulating plans to be carried out, Sunfire felt comfortable having a plan of action: find Hawkclaw and deal the death blow.

The basic plan, however, would not be nearly so simple to carry out. Hawkclaw, though Sunfire hated to admit it, was cunning, a highly skilled fighter, and he could flee quickly if things took a bad turn for him in a fight.

Regardless, fresh fire burned in Sunfire, along with a powerful determination to see that her self-appointed task was fulfilled. _Start by going out and tracking him down…_

Lost in thought, Sunfire noticed that Morningcloud had come over. The dawn-gray she-cat was looking at her expectantly, and Sunfire realized with mild guilt that Morningcloud must have said something and was waiting for her response.

"Sorry, I missed that," meowed Sunfire, pushing Hawkclaw to the back of her mind.

"He brought me up-to-date on everything in the Tribe," Morningcloud repeated, flicking her tail at her brother. Then she shook her head slowly. "It's amazing how much has changed: who's died, who's had kits…" she trailed off slowly. "He says the Tribe is going to return to the mountains, but no one even thinks about trying to invade the forest again."

"Does the Tribe have a new leader?"

"Yes. A cat I knew once; she's smart enough not to try anything idiotic."

Sunfire looked over at Bracken, who was stirring as the sunlight crept across his exposed face. "Why did you never mention you had a brother, in all the moons you've been here?"

Morningcloud glanced at Sunfire, then back at Bracken. "It never seemed important," she said quietly.

"Didn't you ever see him during all the battles with the Tribe?"

"Yes. I always made sure to stay away from him if I saw him; I wouldn't have known whether to defend my kin or my Clan."

"Are you going to have him carry messages to your old friends? Just so they know you're fine?" It was a reasonable question for Sunfire to ask; Morningcloud had sworn her loyalty to ThunderClan, and could not breach that by exchanging messages with her former Tribemates.

Morningcloud shook her head. "No. I want to, believe me," she added, her eyes growing distant and wistfulness creeping into her voice. "I want them to know everything that's happened to me, but…then they might have messages back to me, and Bracken might be asked to bring them over, now that he's known here." She shook her head. "I don't want to do that to him, and I don't need to have my loyalties torn." With that, she walked back over to her brother, who had now sat up and was grooming himself.

Sunfire stared after her. _At least there's one cat who knows how to sort out her problems. _Her thoughts swaying back towards Hawkclaw, she padded to the fresh-kill pile.

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"Can't say I'm sorry to see him leave."

Sunfire glanced over at Flickerpool, who was watching an escort gather around Bracken, preparing to take him out of ThunderClan territory now that it was sunhigh.

"He makes me nervous," Flickerpool continued quietly. "There's something about him that makes me think he didn't really come here to tell us about Hawkclaw." She stared broodingly at Bracken, then shrugged and padded away.

Sunfire looked over at Bracken; Softsteps and Jaywing flanked him, and they appeared to be waiting for another cat to join them. Shifting her gaze to Bracken, Sunfire twisted an ear uneasily when she saw the look in his eyes. His gaze roamed around the camp, flicking from one cat to the next, as though he was looking for a certain Clan member.

Just like the night before, there was something dark and unsettling in his amber gaze; trying to examine the look without being obvious, Sunfire's best guess at the emotion there was pure hatred. As Bracken kept searching the camp with his eyes, Icestorm jumped lightly down from the slope-top, fresh-kill dangling form his jaws. Seeing the flash of silver-white, Bracken's gaze snapped onto Icestorm, and the black look deepened.

Sunfire felt shocked at the intensity of the hatred in Bracken's eyes, and couldn't think of anything to explain it. It was possible that Bracken had seen Icestorm in some of the many battles with the Tribe, but what could Icestorm have done to earn such a black, bitter glare?

Icestorm strolled right past Bracken, not sparing him a glance and therefore not noticing the vicious stare directed at him. Then Mudstar padded over to the waiting escort; as the leader approached, Bracken blinked, and when he opened his eyes there was none of the loathing left, only politeness. Mudstar meowed something, probably again thanking Bracken for warning the Clan of Hawkclaw. The golden-brown tom nodded courteously, then, moving with Softsteps and Jaywing, headed up the slope and vanished.

The second his tail disappeared from view, Sunfire hurried to Icestorm, who was depositing his fresh-kill on the pile. "Did you see that?" she asked him under her breath.

He turned to her, puzzled. "See what?"

"When you came into camp, Bracken looked at you, and…Icestorm, he looked like he wanted to kill you."

His blue eyes darkened as he frowned. He twisted his neck around and stared at the slope, as though hoping to still see Bracken there. "Huh," he grunted. "I vaguely remember him from battles with the Tribe." He waved his tail thoughtfully, then licked Sunfire's ear. "Don't worry about it," he said. "Maybe I once gave him a bad bite that got infected, and he's bitter about it."

Sunfire stared at him. "Didn't you _hear _me? He looked like he'd love to rip your throat out!"

A worried look crossed over Icestorm's face, but it passed. "Well, he's going back to the Tribe," he meowed. "Whatever I did to him, I'm sure it was insignificant and he's just sour and overreacting." Seeing that Sunfire wasn't reassured, he added gently, "I'll likely never see him again in my life. It's also possible I remind him of a rogue or something that attacked him once."

Still unconvinced but unable to think of an argument, Sunfire was about to suggest they go and eat when a shrill wail sounded from outside camp. Whipping her head towards the noise, Sunfire's fur bristled as a breeze carried blood-scent into camp. As every cat turned towards the noise, a Raintail appeared on the crest of the slope, her white fur stained heavily with dirt and blood. In her mouth she gripped an unmoving Dapplepaw by the scruff.

Growls born from fear began to rise in the camp, and as Sunfire stared at the gashes that laced her friend's body, a cold, horrible feeling spreading through her, Raintail gently set Dapplepaw down and said in a ragged voice, "Hawkclaw's back."

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	6. Oaths Sworn

**A/N: **Thanks for your review, **Olivia-Della-Robbia**!

Wow, I've become a painfully slow updater, haven't I? Reality gets in the way too much, that's the problem.

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**Chapter Six: Oaths Sworn**

Numbed, Sunfire took in the gashes crossing Raintail's body, the blood seeping from the wounds and soaking into her fur, drops peppering the ground. Rootclaw ran up to her, and, as the stunned Clan watched, guided her down the slope. Upon reaching the bottom, Raintail's legs folded underneath her. Treeshadow, emerging from the elder's den, hurried up the slope and gently picked up the unconscious Dapplepaw and set her down near Raintail.

The Clan suddenly came to, and began clamoring, demanding Raintail what had happened, if Dapplepaw was dead, and where Hawkclaw had attacked them. Tearing her gaze away from her friend's mauled body, Sunfire saw Mudstar scrabbling up the Hightree, but it was Rootclaw who screeched, silencing the Clan.

The small brown medicine cat said with an icy, frightening calm, "Raintail is severely wounded. If you don't keep quiet and let me work on her, she _will_ die." Without skipping a beat, she turned to Hailpaw, who seemed stunned. "Go into my den," she ordered, "and fetch all the cobwebs I have. They're in the farthest corner." For a moment, the gray-spotted tom appeared not to have heard; then he shook himself and bounded over to the fallen tree.

Treeshadow stepped forward. "Come on, clear off," he snapped, sounding much unlike his usual calm, polite self. He began making shooing motions at the ring of cats surrounding Rootclaw, Raintail, and Dapplepaw. "It's hard enough work stopping bleeding like this without an entire Clan gawking." Hailpaw came scurrying back then, moving strangely due to the thick layers of cobwebs on each of his forepaws.

Many cats backed away, but Sunfire felt their prompt obedience was due more to surprise at Treeshadow's sudden ferocity than from real desire to let Rootclaw work in peace.

_Why does everyone always watch when someone's bleeding out?_

Sunfire slowly moved backwards, her eyes riveted on Raintail. Her friend's pale blue eyes still had life in them, but her gaze was glassy with shock and pain, and she seemed not to notice anything around her. A tail-length away from her, Dapplepaw lay still, but as Sunfire squinted she could see the apprentice's flanks were moving.

Treeshadow moved to the apprentice and began gently feeling her ribs, then pressed his ear to her chest. As he did, Dapplepaw blinked awake, and tried to struggle to her feet. The retired medicine cat held her down with one massive forepaw. Sunfire heard him begin questioning her, his voice kind yet urgent, and knew he was asking her if and where she felt pain. After a few moments, he nodded, said something more, then left her side and stepped over to help Rootclaw.

Sunfire looked over Raintail's body; though the cobwebs were becoming saturated with blood, her bleeding was already slowing, and she still breathed, though incredible pain showed plainly in her eyes. As Sunfire watched the two medicine cats work in complete silence, fury slowly rose in her, mingled with fear. Hawkclaw had likely given Dapplepaw a blow to the head to prevent her sending for help, then set to tearing up Raintail's flesh.

She sat still as the sun moved across the sky. The patrol that had escorted Bracken out of their territory returned, moving cautiously into camp, wary from the overpowering blood-smell. No cats left camp, frightened by Raintail's experience. Even Firestorm, given to seeking swift revenge, sat quietly in the shadows, showing no desire to exit the safety of the camp. Icestorm paced circles around the camp, his eyes riveted on Raintail as he slowly made his circuits.

Finally, when it was nearing sundown, Rootclaw and Treeshadow carefully helped Raintail to her feet. The white she-cat stood shakily, swaying from Treeshadow to Rootclaw and back, unable to balance properly. Moving slowly so as not to re-open her slashes, Treeshadow and Rootclaw guided Raintail over to Rootclaw's den. Gradually, pain burning in her eyes, Raintail lowered herself to the dust, leaning back onto a clump of ferns.

Letting out the breath she'd been holding, Sunfire hurried over to her, her long strides carrying her across the camp quickly. She bent down and touched her nose to Raintail's, relieved beyond words that the white warrior had pulled through.

"Not one of your better days," Sunfire commented, making her tone sound off-hand as Rootclaw began shaking out poppy seeds.

Raintail's flanks heaved slightly, a short huff escaping her mouth in a ghost of a laugh. "I left my mark on him," she whispered, her voice cracking. "Gave him a good deep cut over his left eye; it'll leave such a scar."

"Well," said Rootclaw, dabbing the poppy seeds over to Raintail, "These cuts are all long, but not horribly deep; only a few should scar. StarClan was certainly on your side today; not many cats would still be breathing after losing that much blood."

Behind the pain, Raintail's pale blue eyes twinkled. "I was too quick for him," she croaked, a weak purr rumbling in her chest. "He couldn't get a hold of me."

"Well, save your storytelling for now," said Treeshadow, not unkindly. "You need to sleep."

The poppy was already taking effect; Raintail's eyes were glazing over with sleep. "Dapplepaw?" she asked.

"She's fine," Treeshadow assured her. "Shaken up and horribly tense, but never let it be said she doesn't have the right to be."

Raintail managed a drowsy nod before falling asleep.

Sunfire wanted to sit with her, but heard Mudstar calling a Clan meeting. "I'll stay and watch her," promised Treeshadow, settling down beside the white she-cat. "But she's out of immediate danger now that she survived the blood loss."

Unsheathing her claws, Sunfire burned to say that even though Raintail had lived through what had likely been the ambush of her life, she was far from safe. _Hawkclaw's not finished yet… _Shaking herself, Sunfire turned and padded into the clearing.

She sat beside Icestorm, pressing her muzzle into his soft fur. "Raintail's fine," she breathed. She heard him exhale, felt his tensed muscles relax slightly. Mudstar began speaking; she raised her head to listen.

"Raintail has survived the assault," he called, his voice resounding through the camp, "and Rootclaw tells me there is every chance she will live now that the bleeding has been stopped." Many in the Clan murmured, praising StarClan for helping Raintail pull through.

"Dapplepaw," Mudstar said, turning to look at the tortoiseshell apprentice, "please tell us what happened today." He beckoned her to stand beneath the Hightree. Craning her neck, Sunfire saw the young she-cat weaving through the Clan; Hailpaw, her brother, walked alongside her, and her mentor Darkcloud watched her progress from his place.

Reaching the front of the clearing, Dapplepaw sat down, looking confused and unsure of herself. Her eyes flicked from Darkcloud to Softsteps, her mentor and mother, as she shuffled her paws.

"Just tell us how this happened," prompted Mudstar gently.

Dapplepaw took a deep breath, then began speaking. "Yesterday, I caught two birds when Darkcloud took me hunting. I buried them by the roots of the twisted ash tree over there," she said, flicking her tail south-west, where the old tree grew. "I forgot about them," she continued, "until today. I thought it was a terrible thing to let good fresh-kill rot when leaf-bare is starting, so I went out to fetch them."

"By yourself?" interjected Mudstar. His tone was free of anger or anything similar, so he would not upset Dapplepaw further.

The apprentice nodded. "It was stupid, I know, but it's such a short way to the tree and I didn't want to bother any of the warriors by asking them to go with me when it's so close by…" She was wrong; while relatively close to the camp, the old ash was far enough away that no new apprentice should make their way to it alone.

"I was almost there when I heard pawsteps," Dapplepaw continued, looking humiliated and horribly shamed. "Since Bracken had just told us Hawkclaw was here, I panicked and didn't take the time to scent the air, so I climbed up that tall oak. I was way up the tree when I looked down and--" here her voice broke. She swallowed hard and pressed on. "It was Raintail, not Hawkclaw. She must have scented me and come after me to make sure I was safe. I was about to start down the tree when…" here she gave a shudder that rippled through her entire body. It was several long moments before she spoke again.

Her next words chilled Sunfire to the bone. "I didn't hear him coming. Neither did Raintail. One heartbeat he wasn't there, and the next he was—was s-slashing at Raintail, just c-cutting her so badly…"

Silence hung thick and heavy over the camp; Sunfire heard her blood pulsing through her ears. Hailpaw nuzzled his sister, calming her, but horror shone plainly in his own eyes. Dapplepaw finished:

"I climbed down the tree as quickly as I could. Hawkclaw was trying to pin Raintail down, but she moved too fast for him; every time he slashed out to knock her down, she would just sidestep. She got cut, but never pinned down…when I reached the ground, I tried to jump on Hawkclaw, to distract him enough that Raintail could knock him out or something, but he turned and saw me, and—and he reached out with a forepaw and—all I remember is waking up here." Her voice had grown increasingly small and timid.

Many cats were nodding sympathetically, murmuring words of comfort, Sunfire among them; Dapplepaw must have been terrified enough when Hawkclaw first attacked, and having to relive it…

"Thank you, Dapplepaw," said Mudstar softly. "You have been very brave today." Looking immensely relieved that she was finished, Dapplepaw shot back into the crowd. She pressed close to Softsteps, who licked her heading in long, soothing strokes.

"Well, what are we going to do about this?" asked Quickriver. Her voice almost had a nagging tone to it.

Sunfire answered immediately, her blood firing up again. "Hawkclaw must be killed."

As one, the Clan turned to look at her. Some were nodding agreement, but one or two looked frightened of her, as though they thought she sounded liable to start slaying them all. Defiantly, she kept her head raised, eyes narrowed, refusing to be cowed.

After several long moments, Darkcloud said, "StarClan decree that warriors do not kill unless they must."

Sunfire locked gazes with him. "There is a bloodthirsty, murderous, brutal cat roaming our territory, seeking to kill us, and you say he should not be killed?"

"There are ways to stop a cat aside from stopping his heart," mewed Nightwhisker.

"But all of us know Hawkclaw," said Flickerpool, standing up to be better seen. "Whether we knew him when he was a part of this Clan, or we have heard the tales of the cats he killed, or, in the case of the youngest here, heard about him and his ways from Bracken, we all know he is ruthless. He finds ways to get what he wants, and he will not stop until he is satisfied."

"But to slay him in cold blood?" asked Fogdrift.

"If Hawkclaw is killed, it won't be in cold blood!" insisted Sunfire, flexing her claws. She'd expected this type of reaction. "He murdered Roseleaf, Orangestripe, Lightningstar, and from what Bracken told us, more than a couple of rogues or loners!"

"Mudstar?" called the elder Sorrelflower, fixing her old gaze upon their leader. "What say you?"

The mottled brown tom spoke at once. "If we resort to killing Hawkclaw, we are showing that we are not clever enough to stop him by other means."

"Like what?" challenged Firestorm, his dark blue eyes blazing. "Pushing him off a cliff so he breaks a leg bone, but doesn't die? Slipping him a constant stream of poppy seeds so he's too drowsy to stalk us?"

A couple of cats, despite the situation, stifled snorts of laughter. Mudstar narrowed his gaze threateningly.

"One way to stop him," he said, his tone conveying plainly he was nettled by Firestorm's comment, "is to go about life much as we always do—with some differences. No cat shall leave camp alone. The watches will consist of only warriors." He scanned the Clan slowly. "Any cat that is injured by his claws or teeth shall be treated. If he finds ways to sneak past our watches and destroy our defensive wall—" he flicked his tail at the brambles circling the camp, "—then we shall repair it."

"Your theory being that if we stand strong and do not falter, then he'll just give up?" asked Sunfire. Mudstar missed her scorn.

"Yes," he said simply. "Rootclaw," he added, "have StarClan spoken to you about this?"

The brown she-cat shook her head. "Not a word," she confessed. "I will travel to the Silverstone as soon as I can, to hear what they have to say."

Mudstar nodded, and drew the meeting to a close. Many cats supported him, but others, like Sunfire, Firestorm, Flickerpool, Jaywing, and Hailpaw, were giving Mudstar looks of disbelief, even undisguised scorn. Icestorm and Frozenstream looked torn between Sunfire's point and Mudstar's. The Clan leader called the meting to an end. Sunfire hunched her shoulders, seething. She turned to Icestorm as Jaywing came over to them.

"I swore to avenge their deaths," she hissed to him, not caring if Jaywing overheard—there was nothing traitorous in her oath sworn so many moons ago. She held his deep blue gaze, and said passionately, "I remember my oath, Icestorm, and I will not betray it."

"I stand by you," said Jaywing, his voice calm and certain. "I knew Hawkclaw well, and acting like he does not intimidate us even the littlest bit will not stop him."

Sunfire nodded. "I swore to avenge the murders of noble warriors," she repeated. She raised her head to look at the sky, where the first stars were blinking into view. "I will see to it that justice is served."


	7. Dangers of the Forest

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, everyone! They bring much happiness. Quite frankly, I don't think this chap is all that good, but nothing I tried improved it, so I'm all up for constructive criticism.

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**Dangers of the Forest**

The morning after Hawkclaw's attack, Raintail still lay in Rootclaw's den. Her gashes were red-raw, tender, but they were already scabbing over. The white warrior was able to stand and walk a bit, but her movements were stiff and awkward. That morning, Dewdrop was taking her son Copperkit on his first tour of the camp—or rather, Copperkit had snuck out of the nursery and Dewdrop had rushed out after him and resigned herself to touring him. Upon reaching Rootclaw's den, he padded over to Raintail and inspected her wounds. Sunfire, finishing her breakfast, looked on.

"Hurt bad?" he asked at length, his speech still kit-clumsy; he wasn't even weaned yet.

"Yes," Raintail agreed, tucking her forepaws underneath her chest and wincing.

"Get better?" the bright reddish-brown kit returned, concern creasing his kit-round face.

"In time," Raintail mewed kindly, nuzzling the young tom. "All in good time."

He nodded firmly. "Good." Dewdrop, her eyes shining as she gazed at her only kit, murmured a good-bye to Raintail before herding Copperkit back over to the nursery.

Swallowing a last bite of vole, Sunfire stood and strode over to Raintail, who was halfway through her own meal.

"Sweet little thing," whispered Raintail, flicking her gray tail at Copperkit. "He's already so strong, and sneaky," she added. "He got out of the nursery and halfway around camp without Dewdrop noticing."

Sunfire twitched her whiskers, remembering; Firestorm had done the same when he was a kit. "She'll have her paws full. We'd all better keep an eye on him."

Raintail purred agreement, then looked over Sunfire's shoulder. "I think Darkcloud's waiting for you." She pointed with her ears towards the slope-bottom, where the deputy was watching Sunfire patiently.

Sunfire flicked her whiskers; he must have assigned her on patrol. "See you later," she called to Raintail, already on her way over to Darkcloud.

"Sunfire," the smoky tom said in greeting, bowing his head as Sunfire did the same. "I would like you to go out on patrol."

"At sun-high?" The dawn patrol had left before the sun had even begun to color the sky pink and orange, but it would be some time before the sun reached its highest point.

"When the dawn patrol comes back, which should soon. I think an extra patrol or two can't hurt," he added, "with Hawkclaw around." His amber eyes darkened as he said the name, and Sunfire's claws twitched partway out of their sheaths. "Take Badgerclaw, Flickerpool, and Rustystripe. Take the quickest route towards WindClan territory, follow the entire border line, then go back towards the lake and loop back to camp." Sunfire bowed her head, then padded over to a corner of the camp, giving herself a wash.

The dawn patrol came jumping down the slope before much time had passed. Greeting them, Sunfire gave her chest a few final licks, then stood and headed for the warrior's den to wake the other patrollers.

She passed the nursery on her way over. As she padded by it, she heard a faint scraping noise coming from the back, like something was sliding over the thorns. Halting and craning her neck to see, she saw a small clump of brown, crumbling leaves slipping over the brambles, some of the last to drop from the trees. Shrugging it off, she kept walking, her mind fixed on Hawkclaw.

Had she peered closer, she would have seen the brambles trembling, the result of a tiny body squeezing through them.

;-;-;-;

"Did you hear that?" Rustystripe whipped his head around, his body tensing.

"I certainly did," answered Sunfire, frowning, her ears erect, her body instinctively sliding into a battle-ready position. A shrill, piercing bark had sliced through the bitter-cold forest, and the harsh scream seemed to echo around the trees.

"What _was _that?" asked Flickerpool, her yellow eyes wide.

"Sounded like a fox," opined Badgerclaw, his green eyes narrowing.

"Shh! Listen!" hissed Flickerpool, rising onto her hind legs. Mimicking her daughter, Sunfire braced a forepaw against a tree trunk to steady herself, ears pricked sharply. A faint cry reached her ears, high-pitched and terrified.

"_That_ does _not _sound like a fox," said Rustystripe slowly, his tail flicking uneasily.

"It's getting closer," growled Badgerclaw.

It was. Every few heartbeats, the cry would sound again, getting louder and closer each time. "It's coming from over there," whispered Sunfire, pointing into the forest with her tail. Footfalls, muted by the covering of damp, fallen leaves, came into earshot. Something was moving rapidly towards them, likely sprinting at full speed.

Sunfire pressed herself to the ground, concealing herself underneath a holly bush. Around her, her patrol was also hiding themselves, burrowing into the mounds of dead leaves. Scenting the air, Sunfire caught fox-scent. Opening her mouth, she scented something else…kit-scent?

With a thrashing noise, the fox came bursting into the clearing, thrusting out of some dense bushes. Sunfire froze, focused on the bundle dangling from the fox's mouth—a small clump of coppery fur that was crying in terror.

_Copperkit!_

Flame rushed through her legs as Sunfire leapt at the fox, snarling; she heard the others leaping out as well. The vixen, startled by the sudden flood of screeching cats, jerked her head back, causing Copperkit to flail in her jaws. The little kit squealed as he was jounced around, his body flopping limply. Sunfire had landed on the fox's back after her first bound, and now clung on fiercely, burying her claws into the thick red pelt. _I killed Nero_, she thought, remembering the great midnight-furred vixen who had spoken cat-tongue and had led the Tribe. _I can kill this one too. She's smaller, weaker. _Pulling one forepaw from the heavy pelt, she raised it high and smacked it down on the vixen's skull, trying—yet failing--to make it drop Copperkit.

Badgerclaw, meanwhile, was ramming his broad head against the fox's flank, and pushing at it with his forepaws. "Knock her over!" he yowled, raising his voice over all the snarling cats; the vixen, determined to keep Copperkit for her own, merely growled throatily and struggled to pull away from her attackers. Flickerpool, sleek and nimble, darted around the fox, nipping at its legs and making it dance, trying to trip it. Rustystripe joined Badgerclaw in trying to knock the vixen flat.

Still sinking her claws into the fox's fur, Sunfire dragged her claws downward, rending fur and flesh. With a jolt of satisfaction, she saw the vixen jerk its head upwards, its jaws finally parting in a pained screech. Copperkit dropped to the ground, falling flat on his side, where he did not move. Sliding off the fox's back, her blood hot with fight, Sunfire dashed in front of the fox's muzzle, scooped Copperkit's limp body her jaws, and ran, her long strides carrying them rapidly away from the battle. Seeing her with the kit, the others released the fox and dashed after her. Badgerclaw spat some final insults at the shaking mass of dark ginger fur before following suit.

Her blood still pounding with the rush of the abrupt fight, Sunfire set Copperkit down on a mound of frozen moss, where he lay still. _Don't be dead…_Before she could examine him, a bitter snarl made all of them jump and spin around, their tails fluffing out.

The vixen was stalking towards them, black lips curled back to reveal her yellow-white fangs.

"What's wrong with it?" panted Rustystripe, backing slowly away, trembling. "Is she diseased? Surely she must know she's outnumbered…"

"She's hungry," growled Sunfire, low in her throat, shielding Copperkit from the fox's view, "and we've taken her meal. She must be desperate to take us on again." She glanced around, and said with calm, quiet authority, "We will run back to camp. If she is dense enough to follow us there, let her—she'll find herself surrounded by an entire Clan. And split up," she added, tensing as the fox prowled steadily closer, still growling. "If we separate, she'll get confused." The fox crouched low, muscles rippling, ready to spring. Holding her breath, Sunfire waited until the vixen pushed herself into the air before grabbing Copperkit and taking off.

As she bounded back into the forest, she heard the fox crash onto the now-empty ground. Copperkit dangling from her jaws, Sunfire headed for the RiverClan border, and caught a glimpse of Badgerclaw and Rustystripe taking a thin dirt path that would take them straight to camp if they followed it the whole way. She saw Flickerpool out of the corner of her eye, and, with a sharp pang of fright, heard the fox knocking aside the undergrowth behind them.

She put on more speed, taking the longest strides possible, ignoring the frightened, pained squeals from Copperkit as he was jounced around; he was far better off being temporarily hurt by the unavoidable flailing of his body than being permanently crushed by a fox's jaws. She could still see Flickerpool sprinting alongside her, her night-black flanks heaving, when suddenly, her daughter cried out and disappeared from Sunfire's view.

Bracing her paws against the ground to stop, Sunfire looked back, frightened by Flickerpool's cry; the sleek black warrior had tripped over a tree root obscured by fallen leaves. She lay on her side, breathless, with her left forepaw bent underneath her at an awkward angle. Before Sunfire could do anything, Flickerpool gritted her teeth, then yowled, "Go! Just go! I'll make it, just _run_!"

Then the fox came barreling into view, taking strides so long they were almost a series of continuous leaps. Fear for her daughter flooding through her, Sunfire dropped Copperkit and, aiming for the fox's head, crouched low, ready to leap. Before she could jump, the fox reached them. It flung itself forward, twisting its body as it landed so that it crashed into Sunfire.

Winded, furious, and fearful, Sunfire struggled to get to her feet as the fox closed its heavy jaws on Flickerpool's hind leg, drawing a rush of blood. Suddenly, a pale golden mass dropped from the tree overhead and landed heavily on the fox's neck. Unprepared for the sudden weight falling on top of it, the fox yelped, releasing its grip on Flickerpool's leg. When the golden heap clung to its spine and refusing to relent, the fox gave itself an almighty shake, threw off the assaulter, and fled, crossing the border into RiverClan land.

Panting, adrenalin pulsing through her body like wildfire, Sunfire pushed herself to her feet and felt a wave of shock. Getting to his feet a couple of tail-lengths away, his light golden-brown pelt in complete disarray, was Bracken.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his hoarse voice made more gravelly from his heavy breathing. His amber gaze was fixed on Flickerpool, who, though she glanced his way, did not answer. Sunfire stared at the Tribe tom; he had been escorted to the edge of WindClan territory, where the patrol had reported watching him head back for the mountains! What was he doing back _here?_

As if hearing her thoughts, Bracken turned to Sunfire. "Yesterday I received a message from the Tribe of Endless Hunting," he mewed. Sunfire knew the term; they were the Tribe's warrior ancestors. "They told me to return here. They showed me this tree in my mind," he said, jerking his head at the tree he had dropped from, "and told me I would be needed here."

"Copperkit," hissed Flickerpool, through her clenched teeth. Sunfire turned, and saw that the kit, in his confusion and fear, was crawling away from them, perhaps frightened by the lingering fox-scent. Sunfire, still shaky from being flattened by the fox, stepped over and pulled Copperkit to her, sheltering him beneath her belly. Then she turned to Bracken.

"Thank you," she mewed quietly, utterly sincere and unspeakably grateful. She did not need to add that if he had not intervened, the fox could have—and would have—easily killed Flickerpool. "Can you stand?" she asked Flickerpool, stepping over to her and guiding Copperkit alongside her. Flickerpool, panting against the pain, tried to stand and collapsed. Her left forepaw was still bent oddly, and her right hind leg was dripping blood liberally.

Bracken stepped over, a look of gentleness coming into his eyes. "Here," he mewed softly, "you can lean on me." Sunfire didn't object; Flickerpool couldn't even stand, let alone walk, without leaning heavily on another cat, and she had to carry Copperkit. Bracken crouched down beside Flickerpool as she unsteadily rose to her feet, balancing awkwardly on her good feet before falling sideways into the golden-brown tom. She looked over at Sunfire, and nodded shortly. "I'm ready," she mewed, her words muffled by her tight-clenched jaw.

Sunfire nodded, her worry receding slightly as she saw that Flickerpool was in no immediate danger. Picking up Copperkit (who was still mewling and horribly baffled) by his scruff, Sunfire adjusted her pace to match that of Flickerpool and Bracken, Sunfire kept one eye on the forest and the other on her daughter and the Tribal tom as they slowly, haltingly, made their way to the ThunderClan camp.

For the time being, Sunfire chose to ignore the warm look Flickerpool directed at Bracken—a look a bit too warm to be simply one of gratefulness.

;-;-;-;


	8. StarClan's Will

**A/N: **Thanks for your review, **Olivia-Della-Robbins**!

I tried something a bit different in this chap at the beginning. If people like it, I'll do it more often. I'm always open to constructive criticism, as usual.

Also, I'm almost done with school. Barely two weeks left…school is the main reason my updates are painfully slow. So, yay.

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**StarClan's Will**

A black-and-white tom walked swiftly across the clearing, his steps determined and purposeful. He carried his long tail straight up, and kept his head raised high; there was no questioning his nobility and dignity. His white paws grew damp with the dew that lingered on the grass.

His steps slowed as he reached the small pool. Perfectly round, the pool of water was two tail-lengths across and half-a-tail deep. The clear, untainted water glimmered with the first rays of light that were creeping over the trees. The water's surface was perfectly still. Reaching out with a forepaw, the tom touched the water, just enough to get his paw pad wet. As he kept his paw just skimming the surface, he said softly, "Firestar, Roseleaf, and Orangestripe, I summon you."

He withdrew his paw and stepped back, waiting for the cats to arrive. A gentle breeze blew through the forest, the leaves barely stirring. A whispering sound reached his ears, like dozens of cats all murmuring at once. The air above the small pool shimmered, then glowed with a bright white light. The light separated into three, and each took shape, forming into a cat. For a heartbeat the silhouettes hovered there, simply cats composed of light. Then they lowered to the ground, solidifying, taking on their individual traits.

The three summoned cats stood there, looking attentively at their summoner. Abruptly Orangestripe shuddered, the shiver rippling down his dark ginger spine. "I'm still not used to that," he muttered. "And I still don't know how it works."

Firestar, the most experienced of them, gave a small shrug. "The powers of StarClan are not meant to be fully understood," he said. "But it is a simple rule of the afterlife: if we are summoned, we come. I believe no cat shall ever understand the magic behind it."

"Why have you brought us together, Lightningstar?" asked Roseleaf. There was no impatience in her voice, only curiosity.

Lightningstar sat down, and the four cats made a circle of the bodies. "I wish to talk about Sunfire," he said softly.

Roseleaf lifted her chin proudly. "She is doing well," she purred, her amber eyes twinkling as she pictured her daughter in her mind. Then she grew somber, and her eyes darkened. "Far more well than many cats would, if they walked her path," she added grimly.

"Precisely why I have called you here," mewed Lightningstar. "She has much to endure."

"We cannot help her," said Firestar at once. "That's the way it works. She must do this alone."

"I fear for her," confessed Lightningstar, a tiny, desperate light glinting in his gaze. "She will have to withstand so much…"

"She'll just have to withstand it," said Orangestripe bluntly. "Justice must be served."

"Many will try and dissuade her," said Lightningstar swiftly.

"She is strong," countered Firestar. "Look what she has gone through already, and so young."

"I am worried her convictions may not hold," murmured Lightningstar, as though he did not hear the flame-pelted cat.

"She is set in her ways, and her beliefs are true," replied Roseleaf. "She swore an oath, and she has the honor and dignity to live up to it, unlike many before her. She will not fail."

"What of the prophecy?" asked Orangestripe, turning his green gaze onto Firestar. "You saw it in the Gazing Pool. Is the future certain?"

"It never is. The only certain thing is that binding ties will be tested…and some will be broken. I do not know if justice will indeed be served."

"It _must_," hissed Roseleaf. "The sun _must _rise—"

"And what of the cat Bracken?" interrupted Orangestripe, looking at Lightningstar. "Have you yet seen his purpose?" Only the most powerful cats in StarClan could summon images of the future, and Orangestripe was not nearly strong enough to do so.

Lightningstar shook his head. "I must search again, and quickly, for Rootclaw comes to ask that very question."

"Mudstar may not allow him," cautioned Firestar. "He was never as welcoming as you, Lightningstar."

"If Bracken has a further purpose, Mudstar _must _allow him to stay," said Lightningstar. "I need to search for his purpose."

"And what of my daughter?" asked Roseleaf. "She will look to us for guidance, but what can we tell her?"

"No more than she already knows; that justice must be served, and that she alone has the skill to strike down Hawkclaw," said Firestar.

Lightningstar sighed. "This is far from over," he whispered, mostly to himself. The others nodded gravely, and as if that was some silent signal, they all slowly turned and walked away, melting into the shadows of the StarClan forest.

;-;-;-;

Sunfire sat perfectly still at the bottom of the slope, keeping one eye on Rootclaw's den. Flickerpool was barely visible beneath the long-dead branches that scraped the ground, her black pelt blending into the shade. Bracken could be seen beside her, his golden-brown pelt made darker by the shadows. If she pricked her ears, Sunfire could just hear the murmur of their voices. Raintail had left the den to them, slowly pulling herself into the center of camp, where she could soak up the weak sunlight.

Flickerpool was confined to the den only for the day; the bleeding had been stopped where the fox had bitten her, and Rootclaw had corrected her oddly bent forepaw with one quick, powerful jerk: it had been dislocated.

Rootclaw, meanwhile, had gone to speak with StarClan. The medicine cat felt that since Bracken had returned so soon, he might have a further purpose to serve to ThunderClan. Privately, Sunfire agreed, but she had then remembered the black, bitter look Bracken had directed towards Icestorm, and had decided it might be best if the Tribe tom left. No matter how calmly Icestorm assured her that Bracken was probably only reminded of an old enemy when he looked at him, Sunfire sensed something deeper stirring, one more black cloud to hover over the ThunderClan camp.

Shifting her gaze for a moment, Sunfire looked at the nursery. Dewdrop lay outside the tangle of brambles, keeping Copperkit nestled close to her belly. The spotted tabby queen had become intensely nervous, clearly fearful her kit would crawl away again. Sunfire had ordered Hailpaw to patch up all gaps, no matter how small, in the nursery wall, but it hadn't done much good to calm Dewdrop; the tabby was refusing to sleep in case her son wandered astray. Yellowflower, who had no kits and was in the nursery only to help Dewdrop, had been keeping careful watch over the queen and her kit both.

Shifting her haunches a bit, Sunfire remained where she was, waiting until Rootclaw returned, hopefully with StarClan's decree on what to do with Bracken.

;-;-;-;

Near dawn, Sunfire heard quiet pawsteps advancing on the camp. She heard Nightwhisker, who was on guard duty, whisper a greeting, and then the small, compact body of Rootclaw came down the slope. Sunfire rose to greet her.

"Did StarClan know what to do?" she asked, her voice low. Her paws tingled with anticipation.

Rootclaw nodded. "They spoke with me," she said, "and told me what is meant to happen." Even in the pre-dawn light, Sunfire saw confusion in Rootclaw's amber eyes. "Excuse me," murmured the brown she-cat. "I must wake Mudstar." She took a few steps, then added, "If you could begin waking the Clan, please; this news must be shared with all."

Sunfire nodded, then stretched her limbs; it had been a long night. Though she had assigned herself the duty of guarding the slope-bottom and could have retired at any time, something—_fine, Hawkclaw—_had kept her at her post.

Ducking into the warrior's den, Sunfire nosed Icestorm awake. "Rootclaw's back," she whispered, lingering long enough to nuzzle him before moving on to rouse the rest. Icestorm rose, shook himself briskly, then began nudging awake the cats around him.

When she had woken most of the warriors and asked Jaywing to rouse the apprentices and queens, Sunfire hurried across camp to wake the elders. Sticking her head inside the thick holly bush, Sunfire stretched out a forepaw and gently prodded first Sorrelflower, the old tortoiseshell-and-white she-cat, and then Treeshadow. She relayed the news, then ducked out of the den to find most of the Clan assembled. She padded over to squeeze between Icestorm and Granitestone. Across the camp, she saw Flickerpool slide smoothly out of Rootclaw's den; Bracken followed close behind her. Sunfire watched with narrowed eyes, expecting the tom to sit next to her daughter, but Bracken padded over to sit beside Morningcloud instead.

Though she observed him carefully as the rest of the Clan assembled, Sunfire saw no hint of animosity in Bracken's gaze; the tom did not even glance at Icestorm, only talking to his sister in an undertone. Sunfire twitched her whiskers. _I just don't think he's as innocent and harmless as he seems…_

Mudstar and Rootclaw emerged then. The mottled brown leader leapt nimbly onto the Hightree, then motioned for Rootclaw to join him. Expectant quiet settled immediately in the camp, the tense silence hanging heavily in the dry, bitter-cold air.

Rootclaw lifted her chin to speak. "StarClan spoke to me," she began, her voice ringing clear through the camp, "and for the most part, their words were plain." She paused, perhaps for dramatic effect, then announced, "Bracken is meant to remain with us."

A chorus of yowls met her words, the cries mostly negative; though the Clan was grateful to Bracken because he had saved Flickerpool's life, they were not willing to accept him into the Clan.

"He has no place here!" called Quickriver, her spine bristling.

"He brought us the warning of Hawkclaw's arrival and then saved the life of a warrior, and you say he has no place?" challenged Morningcloud, her shyness evaporating in defense of her brother.

"If ThunderClan accepted every cat that ever helped us into our ranks, our camp would overflow with outsiders!" returned Quickriver, firing up at once.

"I was once a Tribe cat. Do you doubt _my _place among you?" said Morningcloud, uncharistically fierce.

"Enough!" snapped Mudstar; spit flew from his mouth, so forceful was his command. He glared at the quarrelling she-cats until they bowed their heads apologetically, then turned to Rootclaw. "Continue."

Rootclaw nodded, her eye clouding. "Here is where StarClan fell to their riddles," she mewed. "They said Bracken shall have a place among us until the shadows come in newleaf." She hesitated, then admitted, "I am not certain of what this means, and StarClan would not elaborate."

As though they had rehearsed this, Mudstar instantly spoke up. "As Bracken is meant to remain with us—albeit temporarily—I suggest we make him welcome, and a true part of this Clan." He fixed the Tribe tom with his direct gaze. "You are not to idle about for some moons, Bracken. I expect you to learn what it takes to become a Clan warrior; you will learn how we hunt and fight, and you will help this Clan survive leaf-bare."

Bracken nodded calmly. "I would be ashamed to do anything less," he replied, with no hint of sarcasm or insincerity in his tone. "I do not expect to be pampered. I will put forth my full effort into being a member of ThunderClan."

Murmurs rippled through the Clan at his words; some cats muttered about false words, while others praised his determination and apparent sincerity. Sunfire remained quiet, studying the tom, mixed emotions churning inside her.

Sorrelflower spoke up, her age-roughened voice rising above the mutterings. "What is your purpose here?" she asked Bracken, tilting her head curiously.

Her query brought silence, and the Clan turned as one to look at him; clearly they were all wondering just that. For a moment Bracken looked uncomfortable with all the gazes fixed upon him, but after a beat he said quietly, "I do not know. If I have a true purpose for being here, I assure you I am unaware of it. I returned only because my ancestors told me I would be needed—and they were quite right," he added, glancing at Flickerpool.

Mudstar waved his tail to get the Clan's attention. "Your training will begin today, Bracken," he said. He scanned the crowd swiftly, then said, "You shall receive a mentor, and you shall train as a Clan apprentice, though you will sleep with the warriors." Grumbling immediately rose at this, but Mudstar continued smoothly, "Granitestone, I would like you to train Bracken in the ways of the forest." The young gray tom nodded; looking at him, Sunfire could see the mixed emotions in his green eyes. The tom was eager to prove himself capable of being a mentor, but it was plain he would have greatly preferred to train a Clan kit.

"You had a fine mentor in Icestorm, Granitestone," Mudstar continued. "He taught you very well." Beside her, Sunfire felt Icestorm raise his head proudly. "I expect you to teach Bracken as thoroughly as though you were training a Clan apprentice," Mudstar went on, and Granitestone bowed his head. "Of course, Mudstar," he mewed, then walked over to sit beside Bracken.

Mudstar concluded with, "Let us go about our business as usual, then. This Clan meeting is dismissed."

Darkcloud began calling out orders for the daily patrols, and slowly, with a good deal of muttering amongst themselves and furtive looks towards Bracken, the Clan moved towards the fresh-kill pile. Sunfire remained where she was, gazing steadily at Bracken. So she had no choice but to accept him as part of the Clan...

Bracken, sensing her gaze, looked over and locked eyes with her. Suddenly, with the force of a clap of thunder, a wave of confused, warring emotions flooded Sunfire. Anxiety numbed her limbs, and bitter fury and cold hatred made her claws ache to rip into the cause of the rage. Then came the sadness, anguish so great she nearly staggered. That lulled, only to be replaced by a dull, lingering regret and sense of deep loss. Then came a rush of unexpected warmth, a feeling Sunfire knew well; it was love, pure and strong, the same love she felt for Icestorm.

She jerked her head away, suppressing shudders; the emotions had not been her own, she knew that. Somehow, she knew that everything Bracken was feeling had been transferred to her in one almighty rush. _What in StarClan's name _was_ that? _She had never experienced anything like that before; chancing a glance at Bracken, she saw nothing odd about him. He was the picture of perfect calm, licking a forepaw unconcernedly. Either he hadn't received the wave of all her own thoughts and feelings, or he was exceptionally good at hiding the shock he would surely be feeling if he had.

_Why did that happen?_ Never in her life had she gone through something like that, not even with the cats she loved most. Yet she had just felt the mind of Bracken, a tom who had only just come into her life by the will of StarClan.

_With everything that's happened in the past few days, _she thought, breathing deeply and trying to calm her mind, _what else can possibly be in store?_


	9. Ties of Peace

**A/N: **Thanks for your reviews, **Olivia-Della-Robbia **and **OMG**!

Okay, I don't know if this fic just gets pushed back too quickly for many people to notice that I've updated or if I have read-but-no-review people lurking about, but…please. Reviews help me. If people don't talk to me, I don't know what to fix/stop doing and what to keep doing.

So, review, please. I'm gonna keep writing this because—well, I can't stop, can I? I love this too much to abandon it, but reviews in my inbox make me happy.

;-;-;-;

**Ties of Peace**

Leaf-bare had fully come. The last leaves had long ago fallen to the ground, and were now covered by a liberal amount of thick, heavy snow. Tree trunks were encased in ice, the black bark acquiring a silver sheen that glittered like Silverpelt.

Sunfire hovered by the warrior's den, half in and half out, scanning the camp. Dips in the snow marked where the Clan had forced their way through the dense layer of snow, plowing paths to all areas of the camp. No cat that was not on patrol lingered outside of the dens; only the ones assigned to guard duty remained in the cold, huddled outside the camp entrance, pressed close together for warmth.

_Well, no, _Sunfire amended in her mind. One other cat sat out in the snow, and willingly.

Since the snow had fallen three nights ago, Bracken had efficiently cleared away a small circle of snow near the slope, scraping down to the frigid dirt until he had a clean sitting place. He sat there now, licking his paws unconcernedly. When the snow had first begun to fall, Bracken had serenely lay in the middle of camp, letting the snow pile up around and on top of him. Sunfire had walked past him at one point, and had heard him emitting a rusty purr.

"It reminds him of the mountains," Flickerpool later explained. "He knows his place is here, at least for now, but he's missed the snow and ice of the mountains."

In the moon he had been with ThunderClan, Sunfire had noticed nothing sinister about Bracken. He was courteous and kind to all, even the prickly, unwelcoming Quickriver and Badgerclaw. He followed Granitestone's training, learning quickly what it took to be a forest cat. He spent most of his spare time with Morningcloud and Flickerpool, but he also talked with the friendlier cats—Frozenstream, Darkcloud, and others. Whenever he looked at or spoke to Icestorm, there was no hint of anything other than respect in his voice, posture, and eyes.

But Sunfire did not trust him. He seemed to be too kind, too carefully respectful. A deep, inexplicable intuition told her to be wary of the Tribal tom—but she treated him as though he was no different from a Clan cat.

In the moon that Bracken had been with ThunderClan, there had been no trace of Hawkclaw. The only reminders that he had ever been around were Raintail's scars. Though most had healed and the fur grown back, the deeper ones still showed plainly, bright pink against her frost-white pelt.

Sunfire had received no dreams—nothing prophetic, no messages from StarClan, nothing. She knew that even with the snow, Hawkclaw would return—it was just a matter of _when._ Even though the snow would plainly mark his steps, he would find a way to cover his tracks—he was clever. Backtracking multiple times would work, as would continuously crossing over into territory of the other Clans or traveling along frozen streams.

He would come. Malevolent things always did.

Flickerpool slid past Sunfire, stepping disdainfully into the snow, her dislike of the white showing plainly. She turned and said to Sunfire, "Darkcloud's with Rootclaw; his paw pads split because of the cold. He asked me to take Dapplepaw out for him; Bracken's coming with us."

Sunfire's claws twitched. "Doesn't he have to train with Granitestone?"

Flickerpool hook her head. "Granitestone's also with Rootclaw; split pads as well. Neither of them will be able to walk for a while, so I'm doing them both a favor." There was a light in her eyes, however, not quite disguised, that showed she did not consider spending time with Bracken to be a_ favor_.

Sunfire studied her daughter; Flickerpool would not go far from camp, she knew, not with little Dapplepaw tagging after her, and so should be safe from Hawkclaw. _But Bracken…_Sunfire's concern came not only from distrust of the tom, but from the fact that Flickerpool appeared to be falling, and fast.

Flickerpool had begun to walk away; with a sudden flash of maternal protectiveness, Sunfire jumped in front of Flickerpool and, leaning close to her face, whispered earnestly, "Be careful."

Flickerpool regarded her for a moment, and Sunfire knew her daughter had caught the double meaning in her words. Her eyes flashed for a heartbeat, then cleared; she nodded almost curtly and kept moving, slogging over to the apprentices' den. Dapplepaw slithered out of the old, dead, hollow log, then followed Flickerpool over to Bracken; Dapplepaw's short legs forced her to jump over the snow rather than shove through it.

Her claws still twitching, Sunfire watched them disappear up the slope. _StarClan, I trust you to intervene if something is not meant to happen._

;-;-;-;

"RiverClan's pushing our border back," Sunfire heard Frozenstream growl. "Smell. They've put their scent-markings all the way over here, and you can see their pawprints."

Her tail beginning to lash, Sunfire padded over to where her daughter indicated. She didn't even have to press her nose to the ground, so powerful and recent were the markings.

"They're at _least_ four fox-lengths over the proper border," said Darkcloud, looking at the reed clumps that had marked the boundary for generations. His amber eyes darkened, and his tail gave one short, angry lash. Rootclaw had released him from her den two days before.

"Why would they do this?" said Softsteps, scraping angrily at the snow. "They made no mention of wanting to expand their territory at the last Gathering; Ravenstar was _bragging _about how well-fed RiverClan is."

"Whatever their reason, we can't allow it," said Sunfire, already padding along the obvious trail RiverClan had left. "We should chase after them, Darkcloud," she said to the deputy. "We only just missed them. If we hurry, we should catch them before they crawl back to their _real _territory." As if Sunfire didn't enough to deal with now—Hawkclaw, Bracken, and the usual strain to survive leaf-bare—now RiverClan was blatantly stealing their territory!

Darkcloud nodded. "We shall follow, but if we catch up to them, _do not _assault them. Leaf-bare is hard enough without bloodshed. I want this issue to be dealt with as peacefully as possible." He began to follow the trail of pawprints.

Sunfire matched his pace perfectly, her claws sliding smoothly out of their sheaths. "Fine," she said, "but if they attack us, I will meet them." She locked gazes with Darkcloud, not looking away even as they pushed through the heaped snow. "I refuse to flee on my own territory. They cannot think we will let them take this land."

Darkcloud studied her, then looked away to jump over a log. "I was not suggesting we would hand over our land," he said calmly, "merely that I wish to avoid a border fight. Hopefully we can just send them off with a warning."

"I doubt it," called Softsteps, coming up on Darkcloud's other side. Instead of staying nose-to-nose with him like Sunfire, she stayed back a few paces, silently acknowledging his higher rank. "RiverClan have never been keen on settling scores with words alone."

"They've always been kind enough, though, and respected the boundaries," said Frozenstream, at the back of the group. "I don't understand the sudden intrusion—"

"Shh!" hissed Darkcloud, stopped dead. He craned his neck. "There they are," he whispered, his voice barely audible. Peering through a thick clump of thorn bushes, Sunfire saw the patrol, moving purposefully ahead, stopping every few steps to spray. She hissed softly and started forward, but Frozenstream held out a paw to stop her.

"I should go first," she whispered. She turned to Darkcloud. "If I go ahead," she murmured to him, "I'll be able to run ahead of their group. My pelt blends perfectly with the snow. When they reach me, I'll step out and surprise them. If you all follow behind, we'll have them surrounded. We don't have to attack them," she added, "just stop them from running away."

Sunfire thought it sounded well worth a try; Frozenstream was capable of running in near silence, and her silver-white pelt would be nearly indistinguishable from the snow. The RiverClan scents that drifted up from their trail had been all muddled, but it hadn't smelled like their patrol was more than four cats, so they would be evenly matched if the trespassers decided to attack.

Sunfire watched Darkcloud mull the idea over; he nodded. "A fine idea," he complimented. "Go ahead, then; we'll follow shortly." Frozenstream nodded, her emerald-green eyes glittering; then she put her body low to the ground and began to slink rapidly away, her steps muffled by the snow.

Sunfire began to twitch her tail with anticipation; she didn't want the confrontation to turn into a full-fledged teeth-and-claws-and-blood fight, but she deeply wanted the satisfaction of confronting the RiverClan patrol and chasing them out. Darkcloud stood still, waiting until Frozenstream disappeared from view; then he waved his tail and started forward, crouching low to the ground.

Sunfire fell in beside him, thankful that the snow was soft, allowing their paws to sink into it silently. As they moved, the RiverClan scents became even sharper, and all three of them slowed from the original swift stalk to a slow, deliberate creep. A flash of movement caught Sunfire's eye; her pulse quickened, her eyes darting to the blur of motion. She halted, motioning for Darkcloud and Softsteps to do the same. Not too far ahead of them, partially concealed by a fir tree, were four RiverClan cats. All seemed to be looking at something before them, and, pricking her ears, Sunfire could hear unfamiliar voices. Frozenstream must have confronted them.

After making sure the RiverClan cats' backs were all facing them, Darkcloud signaled for the patrol to fan out slightly and move forward. Flattening her belly to the snow, Sunfire crept forward, hoping the intruders did not turn around; she, Darkcloud, and Softsteps hardly blended with the snow.

Frozenstream was keeping the RiverClan cats busy; she returned every jeer and threat the RiverClan patrol threw at her, going against her normally pleasant disposition. When they were nearly upon the RiverClan cats, Sunfire heard one of them growl, "Just scurry back to your rat-hole den, fox dung."

Frozenstream cocked her head, pretending to consider complying; then she said, "No; see, I don't allow trespassers to get away, especially not without an explanation of what they're doing putting their fat, ugly paws on ThunderClan territory."

The cat who had last spoken snorted. "We're marking the boundary. Now turn your overly-bushy tail around and go back to your camp."

"Maybe the snow's blinded you," said Sunfire, feeling it was time to make their presence known, "but the boundary's all the way over there." She stifled a snort of laughter when the RiverClan cats all whipped around, tails fluffing out hugely with surprise; one of them gave a strangled sort of yelp.

The one who had told Frozenstream to leave, a muddy brown tom named Acornfur, recovered quickly. "RiverClan is expanding its territory," he said. "There's a loner who has recently stolen quite an expanse of our land. Hence, we are restoring our hunting grounds to their original size."

"You would be much better off chasing away the loner than attempting to steal ThunderClan's land," said Darkcloud, keeping his voice polite.

Ashstreak, a gray she-cat, gave a contemptuous snort. "ThunderClan have always been too soft to defend their lands properly, always letting in outsiders. RiverClan is stronger; we know best what is the right thing to do."

A flash of resentment and anger surged through Sunfire. Meeting the she-cat's gaze, she said levelly, "Funny. I remember that RiverClan joined with the Tribe because they were too scared to fight for their land." Letting her gaze pass over each cat, she added, "I didn't realize all the fish you eat fattened your egos as well as your bodies."

Acornfur snapped; snarling, he threw himself at Sunfire, and his Clanmates followed his example. Darkcloud and Softsteps surged forward to meet them; a heartbeat later, Frozenstream joined the fight.

Acornfur had misjudged the distance between himself and Sunfire; he overshot, his body sailing over her. Sunfire spun to face him as he landed; he reared up, forelegs reaching, ready to slash; using the trick Lightningstar had taught her, Sunfire leapt, colliding with his exposed belly, knocking him flat. He rolled with the impact, tangling his limbs with Sunfire's; when their momentum stopped, he was perched over her, teeth bared, aiming for her throat. Sunfire drew her hind legs up and kicked, forcing the tom off her; she clambered to her feet and staggered, dizzied from the roll.

Even as Acornfur darted away, Ashstreak took his place. She crouched down, and Sunfire mimicked her, her heart pounding from the sudden rush of battle. The gray she-cat made ineffectual slashes, darting in, swiping her paw in Sunfire's general direction and backpedaling instantly. Sunfire kept still, waiting for the next poorly structured strike; when it came, she shot her neck forward, clamping her jaws around Ashstreak's paw. Before the RiverClan she-cat could even react, a wildly snarling pair of warriors tumbled into her, pushing her away; Softsteps and another she-cat. Abruptly, something wet and warm spattered across the back of Sunfire's neck; turning, she snarled at what she saw.

Acornfur had Darkcloud pinned down, and had one forepaw raised that glistened with blood; Darkcloud's blood. The deputy lay quite still in the snow, but his flanks still heaved with life, even as blood flowed from him, causing a crimson stain to spread across the snow. Acornfur had opened a deep gash in Darkcloud's neck, a wicked slice that stretched from Darkcloud's chin to nearly his chest.

Acornfur stumbled off Darkcloud, blood-soaked forepaw still raised, looking disbelieving, as though he did not comprehend what he had just done. The rest of the fighting had stopped; Frozenstream and Softsteps had cornered the other three RiverClan cats against an old log, trying to see what had happened to Darkcloud while keeping their enemies trapped. Acornfur made to flee, but Sunfire, her heart ablaze, leapt on him, crushing him to the snow.

"You have just caused this to extend far beyond a border fight," she said, keeping her voice low and deadly, sinking her claws into his pelt. "Crawl back to your own land. This will not end here, I promise you." With a last bitter hiss and a fierce bite to his muzzle, she let him up and watched him flee; his Clanmates bounded over the heads of Frozenstream and Softsteps, following him.

Sunfire waited until they vanished from view; then she crept over to Darkcloud slowly. The fire from the fight left her veins, leaving fear for the deputy and anger at his aggressor. Darkcloud still lived, but how much life remained in his heart Sunfire could not say; the slash on his throat was extremely deep, blood still welling out of it. His eyes were bright, but that was more likely due to pain.

"Let me walk," he rasped; as he spoke, a trickle of blood slid out his mouth. "Need…Rootclaw." He coughed, sending flecks of more blood onto the snow.

Sunfire forced herself to stay calm, even as she watched the deputy bleed out. "Frozenstream, help me find something to stop the blood. Dig for fallen leaves, reeds, anything. Softsteps," she turned to the pale tawny warrior, who was trembling. "Fetch help. Rootclaw or Treeshadow." She had barely finished speaking when Softsteps bolted, likely running faster than she ever had, kicking up clumps of snow in her flight.

Frozenstream leaned over the gasping Darkcloud, pressing frigid leaves she had dug up to his wound. She held the leaves in place with her forepaws.

"This isn't nearly as good as spider webs," she muttered; Sunfire knew she felt the need to break the thick, frightened silence that had descended.

"They'll do," she replied. Looking Darkcloud in the eye, she said steadily, "Rootclaw's on her way, Darkcloud. Keep breathing. Can you do that? Blink for yes." Slowly, the deputy squeezed his eyes shut, then cracked them open again. "Good," Sunfire purred, like she was encouraging an ill kit to swallow his medicine. The purr stuck in her throat, then died.

She looked out over to the line of reeds, into RiverClan land. _Peace could easily have been kept, even with them taking our land. _She glanced at Darkcloud. _If Darkcloud dies, and even if he doesn't, the ties of peace will be severed._

;-;-;-;


	10. Deputy Passing

**A/N: **Thank you for your review, **Olivia-Della-Robbia! **And thanks for adding me to your 'favorites' list, **Fire-Water-Earth-Air-Time**! My excuse for taking so bloody long to update: I'm lazy. Plus I have to do time-consuming stuff for my English class next year. Not much happens in this chap, but at least it's an update, hey?

In this chap I have addressed something that I never did in By the Fire of the Sun: Nightwhisker's mother. You may recall that she and Shadowfur never had a mother, only their father Darkcloud (because frankly, I screwed up and never gave them a mother, so I brought her in here.)

;-;-;-;

**Deputy Passing**

A blood trail marked where Darkcloud had been, vivid scarlet drops blossoming through the snow. A frighteningly large crimson stain lay beneath a snow-laden maple, and from this the trail of droplets, mixed with several sets of paw prints, led to a thick bramble patch.

Three cats ringed the brambles, each one tense, alert for any sign of whatever threatening creature might come their way. A lithe, golden-red she-cat sat directly in front of a gap in the brambles, the strongest warrior guarding the makeshift shelter's most vulnerable point.

Two cats huddled inside a tiny hollow in the brambles. One cat, thickset and black-furred, lay curled on his side. His breathing was halting, labored; a long, deep gash, still oozing blood, sliced across his throat. The second cat, small and mouse-brown, pressed close to the black tom, doing her best to keep him warm.

The three cats on guard pricked their ears up simultaneously; something was approaching, and rapidly. As the sound advanced, the cat guarding the gap in the brambles rose, bracing her feet and unsheathing her claws. Rustystripe and Fogdrift, the other guards, mimicked her.

With a great rattling of cold-brittle branches, a mottled brown tom burst forth from behind a clump of bare-branched bushes; Sunfire relaxed as she recognized Mudstar. Her leader stalked up to the brambles, his tail lashing fiercely, eyes darting from the trail of blood to the gap in the brambles.

"Let me see him," Mudstar demanded, craning his neck, trying to peer through the dense brambles. Sunfire bowed her head and stepped aside, allowing him through. As he pushed through the hole in the thorns, Sunfire's gaze lingered on him; she had already heard Rootclaw's opinion of the wound, and dreaded Mudstar's reaction. She heard voices coming from the hollow, but could not distinguish words.

Her gut twisted when she pictured Darkcloud's wound, and recited Rootclaw's words in her mind: "The wound is too deep for the skin to properly close and mend," Rootclaw had said. "He's lost far too much blood; he can't be helped now." The medicine cat had met Sunfire's gaze sadly, her amber eyes swimming with regret. "He won't live two days."

As they had waited for Mudstar's arrival, Sunfire had searched the immediate area for stray feathers, moss, anything that could add a bit of insulation to the poor excuse for a shelter. Darkcloud was too weak to make the journey back to camp, and Rootclaw had said carrying or dragging him was out of the question; the bramble hollow was the best thing in the area for him, and so, with urging and nudges, Darkcloud had been guided to the bramble patch, where he had collapsed.

The brambles rattled behind Sunfire; she stepped aside to let Mudstar out, startled out of her thoughts. The Clan leader held his head and tail low, his ears flat back. Abruptly, he whipped his head up and met Sunfire's gaze, his eyes blazing wildly.

"How did this happen?" he demanded, curling his lips back to reveal his teeth.

Sunfire realized the only news Mudstar had received was that his deputy was gravely injured; he must have taken off for them once he heard where they were. She filled him in as briefly as possible, recounting the RiverClan scent-markings they had found, then the RiverClan patrol, and then the fight, which had resulted in Darkcloud's slashed throat. Her claws slid out of their sheaths when she spoke of Acornfur wounding the ThunderClan deputy. Behind her, Fogdrift hissed softly.

Mudstar turned his head, facing the nearby RiverClan land. A low growl rumbled from his chest; Sunfire could see his muscles tensing, as if he was readying himself for a sprint.

"Are you going to go into RiverClan land and speak to Ravenstar about this?" asked Sunfire; she was ready to make sure the whole forest knew that a RiverClan warrior had mortally wounded the ThunderClan deputy without cause.

Mudstar did not respond at first. After many long heartbeats, he sighed, his muscles relaxing visibly. "No," he murmured, his voice barely audible. Raising his head, he went on, "I will wait and see what happens to Darkcloud. If he recovers before the next Gathering, I will make an announcement at the Gathering that a RiverClan warrior nearly killed our deputy without reason."

"Rootclaw's already said Darkcloud won't live," Sunfire reminded him. She kept her voice gentle but steady and firm; Mudstar could not let himself fall under the delusion that Darkcloud would pull through.

Her leader snapped his head around to face her, eyes blazing. "Are you saying you _want _him to die?" he demanded wildly.

"I said _nothing _like that!" retorted Sunfire, her voice now hard and cold as stone. She took a moment to swallow her sudden blaze of anger; yelling at her Clan leader would only get her in trouble, and Mudstar had every right to be upset. "No," she repeated, more calmly. "But since Rootclaw has said he _will _die, I don't think ThunderClan should hope that he'll live. If we believe that, his death will just be harder to accept when it comes."

Mudstar studied her; then he nodded curtly, turning away from the RiverClan land. He padded over to her, joining her at the entrance to the brambles, sitting at a respectful distance. "Did you bring Rustystripe and Fogdrift here?" he asked.

Sunfire nodded. "Once Rootclaw got Darkcloud inside the brambles, I thought they should be guarded. A fox or badger is likely to pick up the blood-smell, and they're not well-protected in there; the bramble wall is thin enough for a badger to tear through. When Rootclaw first came, she brought Hailpaw to help carry supplies; I asked him to go back to camp with Softsteps and Frozenstream and fetch whoever was available." She took a breath. "Softsteps and Frozenstream had already fought, and I thought they should rest."

Mudstar nodded. "Well thought-out," he murmured, bowing his head a little. Sunfire returned the gesture.

Moons ago, she reflected, she would have been swollen with pride for immediately setting up a guard system, and even more so at being praised for it. Now, she just felt heavyhearted resignation at Darkcloud's unavoidable death and bitter anger towards Acornfur. Even Hawkclaw had been momentarily driven from her mind.

They all sat in silence for a long stretch of time, listening to Darkcloud's labored breathing, shuffling their paws to try and keep warm against the wet cold. Eventually, Mudstar murmured, almost to himself, "Dapplepaw will need a new mentor."

Sunfire considered this, then said, "Jaywing hasn't had an apprentice for moons, and he's a senior warrior. He could take her." Mudstar nodded slowly, and Sunfire went on. "I was going to let Fogdrift and Rustystripe return to camp; they've been here for ages, and they should get out of the cold."

Mudstar flicked his tail. "Go back to camp," he said, "And send up two new cats. I'll take over your position; you need rest as well." His eyes darkened. "If you could, make a formal announcement to the Clan about what has happened. Allow whoever wishes to come and pay their final respects to do so, but only two at a time." Sunfire nodded, casting a last glance at Darkcloud; the deputy couldn't spend his final hours in his camp, but he would at least see his Clanmates.

She started towards camp, setting her pace at a swift trot; for a few heartbeats she fixed her gaze on the sky. It had darkened to a deep violet, and the first few stars glimmered bright and cold. _StarClan, _Sunfire thought grimly, _prepare yourselves, for a warrior comes to join you in the sky. _

;-;-;-;

A soft breeze whispered through the forest, the forest that existed in eternal green-leaf. A single cat sat before the Gazing Pool, a silent, regretful sentinel. Slowly, more cats joined him, melting out of the shadows, their pawsteps careful and deliberate. Within moments the clearing was filled.

After a lifetime, the first cat raised his head and looked about; he seemed to have just noticed how crowded the clearing had become.

"A warrior comes to join us," he said, addressing no cat in particular. He need not have spoken; the StarClan warriors always knew when a warrior was coming to join them. A soft breeze would travel through the whole forest, carrying on it news of the advancing death.

"Who comes?" called a she-cat at the edge of the clearing, rearing up to make herself better heard. The Death-Breeze, as it was known by all StarClan cats, did not reveal who was dying, only that his or her life was ending.

"The ThunderClan deputy, Darkcloud," replied Lightningstar.

A black long-furred she-cat stepped forward, peering into the Pool. She saw Darkcloud, and could not suppress a tiny thrill of joy despite his obvious pain; she had died many seasons before, when their kits were still in the nursery. Abruptly her brief joy faded. "Who did this to him?" she demanded fiercely.

"The RiverClan warrior Acornfur." The black she-cat bristled, and Lightningstar went on, "Peace, Blackflower. Justice will be brought about." Blackflower nodded slowly, but kept her eyes on the Pool.

Lightningstar lifted his head again, this time addressing all the gathered cats. "He will join us within moments," he called. "He deserves to be greeted with great respect; he is a fine warrior. Blackflower," he added, "I trust you will be the one to guide his spirit here?"

"Of course."

"Go now," Lightningstar said gently. "ThunderClan have all been to pay their last respects to him already, and Nightwhisker and Dapplepaw remain with him. His time has come." Blackflower nodded, then stepped delicately into the Pool; the moment all four paws touched the water, she vanished.

The clearing was purely silent now as the cats sat in a moment of silence for the fallen warrior. Hesitantly, Roseleaf whispered to Lightningstar, "You have seen what will follow his death?"

"You know I have, Roseleaf, as you were with me when I saw it." He paused. "We should not fear for her. She is strong."

"You fear for her despite your words."

"And you do not?"

Roseleaf turned away.

Before Lightningstar could go on, the air shimmered about a tail-length away from the Gazing Pool. There was a brief flash of white; when it faded, two black cats lay in the previously empty space. Blackflower stood; the second cat remained tightly curled. The clearing waited with bated breath; some had seen this happen countless times, while others were seeing it for the first time.

Abruptly, the black tom opened his amber eyes. Calm as he had been in life, he slowly raised his head and gazed around the clearing. Awe and regret filled his eyes as he realized where he was.

Lightningstar took a step forward, and the black tom met his gaze. "Welcome to StarClan, Darkcloud."

;-;-;-;


	11. Deputy Rising

**A/N: **Thank you for reviewing, **Runestripe **and **Olivia-Della-Robbia**! You dislike Blackflower already, **O.D.R**? Well, she's dead, so we shouldn't see anything more of her.

**To my other readers:** Recently I discovered the 'stats' section of my account—you know, the place where it tells you how many hits your stories have gotten, how many reviews, etc. (Yes, I really did only just discover that. I never claimed to be the brightest Crayola in the box.) Anyway, my _point_ is that I'm on quite a few peoples' "favorites" lists and eight people have this fic on their alert list. So if this thing is so well-liked…_where are your reviews?_ You'll put me on favorites and alerts but you won't drop a review?

Please, _please _review after you read. Tell me what you like/don't like, if anything seems "off", if I screwed something up, ask questions if you have them…please.

I'll shut up now.

;-;-;-;

**Deputy Rising **

Cold moonlight filtered through the stark-black trees, touching the snow to silver. In the center of the camp, a still, dark shape lay curled. Two cats flanked the lifeless body, holding the mourning vigil.

Eyes flashed from the shadows; those who had already paid their last respects to the fallen deputy were sheltered deep inside their dens.

"Rootclaw said he died just after moonhigh," said Raintail, her voice low. Her pale blue gaze traveled up to Silverpelt, scanning the stars.

"Mudstar won't have to name the next deputy until tomorrow night, then," Morningcloud replied, her voice thick with near-sleep.

At the mention of naming a new deputy, a glimmer of anticipation darted through Sunfire. Even if she was not the oldest warrior, she was just as experienced as senior warriors like Jaywing and Quickriver. She had been mentored by Lightningstar—and, if she was fully honest with herself, Sunfire suspected that had she not been expecting her kits when Mudstar first became leader, she would have been selected as deputy then.

Perhaps.

As if hearing her thoughts, Icestorm shifted, moving his neck so it rested on her shoulder. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered, "It's got to be you."

A rush of warmth spread through Sunfire; releasing a short purr, she ran her tongue across his cheek and wrapped her tail around him. She heard Raintail murmur agreement; she had caught Icestorm's words. Her confidence on the rise, Sunfire turned her gaze to the sky; the moon was sinking below the tree-tops.

Sighing lightly, Sunfire closed her eyes. _I hope you have found peace in StarClan, Darkcloud. _She huddled deeper into Icestorm's dense pelt, seeking warmth from the penetrating cold of the snow.

;-;-;-;

"Sunfire, wake up."

Opening one eye to the barest green slit, Sunfire saw Jaywing standing over her. She pushed herself to her paws and shook herself, shedding the sleep that clung to her fur. "What's up?" she asked, flexing her shoulders.

"Mudstar's going to name the new deputy." As he answered, the smallest glint of excitement flickered through his eyes. Sunfire realized that as senior warrior, Jaywing would certainly anticipate that Mudstar would name him as deputy. Standing, Sunfire gave Jaywing a small bow of the head. "Good luck," she said, her tail tip twitching slightly.

Jaywing returned the gesture. "The same to you," he replied sincerely. He turned and padded towards the clearing. Slipping from the den, Sunfire saw Mudstar sitting just outside his den. Granitestone sat beside him; the two had their heads close, in private conversation. The whole Clan was gathered in small groups, waiting for Mudstar to climb the Hightree and call a meeting. Darkcloud's body had been shifted from where it had lain overnight; Sunfire saw a dark mass carefully placed by the bottom of the slope.

Picking a scrawny mouse from the fresh-kill pile, Sunfire padded over to where Raintail sat with Softsteps and Icestorm. Settling down, she began to pick at the meager meat on the mouse. Softsteps peered around Raintail's shoulder and spoke:

"Nightwhisker's moving into the nursery."

Pausing in her chewing, Sunfire glanced up and looked around camp, spotting the black queen nestled close to Badgerclaw. "Again?" Sunfire mumbled around the mouse.

Raintail nodded. "We overheard her telling Badgerclaw. She also said that Rootclaw thinks it may only be a single kit again."

Swallowing her mouthful, Sunfire flicked her tail. "We could use more kits." Copperkit was the only kit in the nursery, and he was barely two moons old; once Dapplepaw and Hailpaw became warriors, there would be no apprentices in ThunderClan for some moons.

As Sunfire finished the last scraps of mouse, Mudstar leapt onto the Hightree and called a meeting. Excitement thrilling down her spine, Sunfire rose and padded closer to the Hightree. Icestorm settled beside her, giving her a light nudge.

As the Clan settled, Mudstar began to speak:

"Cats of ThunderClan, it is my duty now to name ThunderClan's next deputy. First, however, we have an apprentice who is in need of a mentor." He beckoned with his tail, and Dapplepaw wove her way to stand before the Hightree. Normally bright and cheerful, the little tortoiseshell held her tail and head low.

"Dapplepaw," Mudstar continued, "you had a fine mentor in Darkcloud. He taught you well, but now it is necessary for another warrior to teach you." His gaze settled on the front of the crowd. "Granitestone, you are ready for your first apprentice. You will assume Dapplepaw's training." As the gray tom walked up to Dapplepaw and touched noses with her, Mudstar added, "You were well-taught by Icestorm, Granitestone, and I expect you to pass on his lessons to Dapplepaw."

Granitestone dipped his head. "Certainly, Mudstar." He locked gazes with Icestorm as he led Dapplepaw to the edge of the gathered Clan; the two toms exchanged respectful nods.

Sunfire's whiskers twitched as Mudstar continued. "Now I must name ThunderClan's deputy." He took a deep breath, and Sunfire's pelt tingled as she heard the ritual words.

"I say these words before the body of Darkcloud, so that his spirit may hear and approve my choice."

Tension pounded through Sunfire's veins. She was reminded of her warrior ceremony, all those moons ago; the momentary pause before Mudstar declared the deputy stretched a lifetime, just as the pause before Lightningstar announced her warrior name had stretched. Icestorm nudged her lightly, and Sunfire felt a rush of confidence; focusing on Mudstar, Sunfire actually held her breath when he opened his mouth again, and as his gaze swung down to fix upon the warrior he had chosen—

"Sunfire will be the next deputy of ThunderClan."

Fire leapt in Sunfire's heart, rushed through her blood. She became aware that she had stood; unable to speak, she bowed her head low to the ground, hoping the Clan understood. Raising her head again, she saw the Clan was nodding approvingly; some were threading their way to her. Icestorm was purring in her ear; Raintail mewed her congratulations, her eyes bright with honest happiness for Sunfire. As cries of approval began to rise from the Clan, Mudstar yowled for silence. Sunfire stared up at him, conveying her thanks silently by bowing her head again.

Mudstar bowed his head in return, then said, "We shall need a dawn patrol, Sunfire."

Heart still pounding, Sunfire looked around; at the mention of sending out a dawn patrol, her mind had gone strangely blank. She spotted Badgerclaw sitting a couple of tail-lengths away; she beckoned him with her tail.

"I want you to lead the dawn patrol," she said, feeling suddenly, oddly, awkward. "Take Raintail and Quickriver," she added, naming the first cats who came to mind, and pushing aside the odd feeling. "Be sure to be careful around the RiverClan border, after what they pulled yesterday." She let a slight growl creep into her voice.

Badgerclaw studied her intently, his gaze unwavering. He had never been friendly towards Sunfire, being against half-bloods and outsiders in general, and no friendliness showed in his eyes now. He did, however, bow his head. When he looked up, his green eyes held grudging respect. He called to Quickriver and Raintail, and they set off up the slope.

Sunfire realized that some cats still lingered, wishing to offer their congratulations up close. Once they left, she turned her gaze to the rising sun, which could just be seen over the tree tops, casting its fiery glow over the snow. A breeze filtered down into the camp from the forest, and with the wind came a rush of power and determination to serve the Clan to the fullest. As Sunfire inhaled, something stopped the feeling of power and achievement dead.

_He's here. _

She smelled Hawkclaw on the breeze.

_He's finally come. _

;-;-;-;


	12. Silentium

**A/N: **Big big thanks for reviews, **Olivia-Della-Robbia**, **Skybreeze**, and **Windfeather**! To **Windfeather:** you're absolutely right—no sarcasm. Sunfire _would _feel some measure of guilt; I would have brought that up if, er, I'd remembered that her taunt started the fight. Sometimes I'm so incredibly stupid. I forgot what I wrote in my own bloody fic. The last section of this might be a bit confusing, but hopefully you'll get it. I also re-posted the allegiances in the prologue; every time it needs updating, I'll do so.

_Silentium (obscurity): darkness, dimness; uncertainty of meaning or expression_

;-;-;-;

**Silentium **

Sunfire walked numbly out of camp, opening her mouth to catch Hawkclaw's scent more easily. Fire steadily built in her veins as she let her surroundings fade out, focusing only on Hawkclaw's scent. Her claws slid smoothly out of their sheaths; her pace quickened as his scent strengthened.

_Track him, find him, kill him—avenge the deaths of noble warriors, relieve the forest of a cold killer, let the dead rest, serve justice. _

She padded purposefully through the forest, winding around trees, her head held high, desperate to keep his scent trail. Suddenly, she found his scent on an old, rotting ash tree; she no longer had to rely on the wind. The snow, which had melted slightly and turned slushy, plainly showed his paw prints. A precise, tidy trail, with nothing extraordinary about it; for some reason, she'd expected the trail of a killer to look different.

_No matter. Doesn't matter. Stupid cat, leaving a trail a newborn kit could follow—_

She burst into a gallop, tail streaming out behind her. Not far ahead of her, she heard crashing—like a cat knocking aside undergrowth as it bolted past. Knowing he was close, so close, gave her a fresh rush; she lengthened her stride until she was nearly moving in a series of leaps rather than running. She saw clumps of snow go flying—he was barely ahead of her, mere fox-lengths and_ StarClan I've nearly got him!_

Suddenly, she was forced to slow; the Gathering place lay ahead, and she did not want to risk sliding off the thick tree root and crashing through the thin ice below. Every hair quivering, her heart pounding so as to shake the ground, she curled her lip to reveal her teeth. He was right there, she knew it; stepping onto the heavy root, she peered about the island.

He was not there.

_Impossible! _She leapt off the root and landed on the broad sweep of ground that led up to Great Tree. The willow, though leafless, had such a broad, dense expanse of branches that large patches of the ground were bare of snow. _No, he's just gone around the back of the tree…StarClan, you can't let him get away!_

Coming around to the other side of the tree, she found Hawkclaw's scent, but not his body. She hissed, scraping at the frozen ground with her claws; where could he possibly have gone? Her tail lashed, frustration and anguish flooding her; how could she have come so close, only to have him slip away at the last second?

"Try looking over here, half-blood."

With a jolt to her heart like lightning, Sunfire slowly raised her head. The four streams formed a deep pool around the island and there, in the section of water between the RiverClan and WindClan boundary, sat Hawkclaw. He perched carefully on a narrow rock spur that was scarcely large enough for him. He was putting on a show of languidness; his tail waved lazily in the air, and he looked calmly about, as though merely inspecting his territory.

Sunfire had gone numb. Slowly, Hawkclaw turned his head to meet her gaze. As orange eyes met green, flame coursed through Sunfire, jolting her back to her senses; she tensed, muscles rippling, ready to jump out to the rock spur and meet the tom in battle.

_STOP!_

The desperate command rang in her mind, and she staggered. She had just started to push off when Lightningstar had intervened; he had spoken to her mentally. Regaining her balance, she studied the situation, though her legs ached to make the leap. The spur Hawkclaw perched on was barely large enough for him, but the rough stone gave his claws good purchase; if she jumped for the rock, he would doubtless be able to rear up on the rock and interfere with her landing, most likely knocking her aside in mid-air. If knocked aside, she would crash through the whisker-thin ice and into heart-stoppingly-cold water.

She began shaking with fury. Hawkclaw had chosen the one place she could not reach him, the one place where he could taunt her and know he was safe.

"Oh, poor, wretched half-blood," Hawkclaw simpered, eyes glittering. "The little StarClan's warrior can't reach the big, bad tom. Oh, poor thing." He sneered, lifting one corner of his lip to reveal a glinting canine tooth. "She doesn't know she was tricked."

Sunfire ached to screech, to force him to stop talking, but she could only stare at him. In spite of herself, she wanted to hear what he had to say.

The simper vanished, and Hawkclaw replaced it with sheer mockery and disdain. "I left that trail for you alone. I knew you would follow it yourself, knew you wouldn't gather any backup, because you're so impulsive you wouldn't even _think _to gather any backup. No, I knew you would just dash along, blindly follow my trail." He shifted on his rock, wrapping his tail about himself. The calm gesture somehow made Sunfire hate him more.

"And then I jumped onto this rock, the one place you cannot reach me. And I knew, _Sunfire—" _he spat her name, "—that before you could commit suicide by leaping for me, StarClan would stop you before you jumped. StarClan won't have anything happen to their precious little kit, now, will they?"

Sunfire felt horribly ashamed of herself: she had blindly stumbled into Hawkclaw's trap. His words were true, every one of them, much as she hated to admit. He had laid the bait, and she had swallowed it eagerly, so ready to catch him that she did not stop to think about it. She had even noticed how brazen his trail had been, but had not considered he had meant it to be so.

Hawkclaw spoke again; he seemed to prefer to hear his own voice rather than silence. "How's your timid little white friend? Did I accidentally scratch her while we played? I know it's been a while since that _accident_, but at least I'm checking up on her."

"Raintail's alive," said Sunfire, her voice cold and calm.

A glimmer of surprise flickered in Hawkclaw's gaze, and Sunfire realized he thought he had killed Raintail when he attacked her. He recovered quickly. "Pity. I'll have to try harder next time."

Sunfire trembled, a thin growl escaping her jaws, but she restrained herself from attacking. Hawkclaw spoke again, his tone no longer full of mockery, but of pure hatred.

"Listen here, half-blood. I will see that your life is miserable. I will see to it that every cat you care about is killed."

"You'll have to kill the whole Clan, then," said Sunfire. She was shaking so much now that her voice trembled. Fiery rage flooded through her, but the danger of the water kept her on the island.

He cocked his head. "I hadn't considered that. But of course," he added, bringing in the mocking tone again, "the good little Clan cat loves her Clan more than her very life. How _noble_."

Sunfire heard pawsteps in the distance, coming from ThunderClan land. "Someone's coming."

Hawkclaw spat. "So? They can't reach me any more than you can. Once they get here, I'll be on my way." Sunfire peered beyond him and saw another rock, mostly submerged, that Hawkclaw alone could access. From there, he could jump onto WindClan land and run, effectively disappearing.

She heard the patrol approaching more rapidly now; one cat, Icestorm, called her name.

"How touching," sneered Hawkclaw. "Your beloved Clan coming to your rescue. Now that an audience will be present, I'll be leaving." He turned to spring onto the next rock.

"No," said Sunfire, with all the new authority she had as deputy. So strong and fierce was her command that Hawkclaw actually froze and looked back at her.

The pawsteps were getting closer; the patrol was nearly upon them. "Why me? What did I ever do for you to hate me so much?"

Hawkclaw stared at her, his eyes smoldering. Then he turned and sprang to the next rock. His next leap carried him to the WindClan shore, and from there he vanished into the growing shadows.

The patrol arrived a heartbeat too late to see him go. "Hawkclaw, at last!" hissed Jaywing, coming around the tree. "Where is he?" The senior warrior whipped his head back and forth, searching.

Sunfire sagged; the blazing rush that had coursed through her while Hawkclaw was present had vanished, leaving her feeling utterly drained. Icestorm padded up to her, pressed himself against her, saying nothing. Sunfire took a moment to breathe in his scent, and then answered wearily, "He's gone." She glanced over at Mudstar, who was watching her, eyes questioning. She closed her eyes and rested her head on Icestorm's neck, taking comfort in his reassuring, though slightly forced, purr.

"I tracked him. He was on that rock, where I couldn't reach him. He taunted me about how badly he hurt Raintail, heard you coming, and fled."

Mudstar narrowed his eyes. "That's all?"

Sunfire nodded. It was pointless to tell the Clan about Hawkclaw's promise to make her life torture—what good would come of it? No cat could do anything about it; the only thing to be done was to kill Hawkclaw, and Sunfire knew StarClan meant for her to carry that task out.

After some hesitation, Mudstar flicked his tail, and began to lead the way back to camp. Sunfire gazed up at the sky. _Why me? Why is he after me?_

There was no sign that any cat in StarClan had heard.

;-;-;-;

Moonlight glared off the snow, creating hard, silvery points of light in the night. One cat moved steadily through the forest, keeping to the shadows, following a trail that was hidden by the snow but ingrained firmly in her memory. The snow was much shallower here, barely covering her paws. Scenting the air and detecting nothing unusual, she moved on, her long stride carrying her swiftly along the trail.

She could hear the ocean now; she veered off one trail and onto a second, one that showed recent pawprints. The half-moon had not been long ago; the tracks of all four medicine cats showed here, the only place other Clan cats were permitted on ThunderClan land.

As she padded along the ridge of rock, moving slowly for fear of slipping on the ice-coated stone, Sunfire realized she had only been to the Silverstone once before. After Hawkclaw had escaped her three days ago, she had felt an undeniable need to speak with StarClan. Though she received dreams from her ancestors easily in the warrior's den, she needed to be certain she would connect with StarClan tonight, and the Silverstone was the only place where the connection would be a sure thing.

She hesitated before stepping into the gaping cavern. She scraped her paws over the ice, which was strangely rough here; taking a deep breath of cold, salty air, she stepped into the cave, and the rush of the ocean quickly faded to nothing.

Her lungs ached within heartbeats of entering the cavern; the air was far too bitter for comfort. Steeling herself against the discomfort, she walked diligently on, searching for a point of light in the harsh darkness. When she saw the faint shimmer of light, her heart leapt, and she burst into a mad dash, slowing only when she came within fox-lengths of the Silverstone. She gazed up at the wide, ragged split in the cavern roof that let in the moonlight and gave the stone is glorious sheen.

The edges of the round space seemed to flicker with pale light: spirits of StarClan, or flashes of moonlight? Flicking her ears, Sunfire slowly stepped up to the Silverstone, lay down before it, touched her nose to the freezing surface, and closed her eyes. _StarClan, speak to me._

;-;-;-;

_She ran, tearing through the forest, the smell of blood lingering in her nose. Panicked, she burst through the undergrowth, pushing through bushes that were just beginning to leaf. She could scent her friend and her son-- and the foxes, great StarClan, the foxes! She heard the rush of the river ahead; in a last frantic burst of energy borne from fear, she came to the gorge and launched herself across the divide. For a few terrifying heartbeats, she hung in air, the dark water churning so far below her. Then she connected with the opposite ledge—she'd made the leap of a lifetime! Relief washed through her, making her even more light-headed._

_Then she began to slip, and fresh panic flooded her as she realized how soft and weak the soil was. She couldn't grip properly, her claws slid right through the rocky, rain-heavy mud, she scrabbled with her hind legs, trying desperately to haul herself up…_

_Then the shadow fell over her. She hadn't smelled anything, so strong was the scent of blood, mud, fox, and her own fear—she looked up…and froze. It was him, StarClan forbid, the one she'd been warned about! A keen of pure fear vibrated through her throat as she fought, fought to get up on the ledge. Then he raised his paw, claws fully extended, but before he brought it down, a strange peace washed over her, quenching the fear. She knew, somehow, her son would be safe. Her death would ensure his life; he would be safe and happy. Dimly, she saw the heavy paw come down._

_She was falling…_

;-;-;-;

_He stared at her, beseeching, ignoring all the hostile, horrified faces riveted upon him…and then he saw the horror in _her_ eyes. He tried to explain why he'd done it, begging her to understand, pleading—couldn't she see he wasn't evil, he wasn't insane? It made _sense _what he'd done, didn't she understand? He took a step towards her, saying her name, desperation thick in his voice; as he stepped forward, she stepped back, and though he moved no closer she kept moving back, shaking her head, gaze fixed on the ground. She was rejecting him, but didn't she see—couldn't she just see _why_? He whispered her name again, and she met his gaze, eyes blazing with conflicting emotions—_

"_Go."_

_One word, just one word, the last she would ever say to him, he knew. _

_He ran._

;-;-;-;

Sunfire woke, but not to the cave of the Silverstone; she was in the StarClan forest. She trembled uncontrollably, her stomach rolling—what had _that _been? Gulping air, she gazed wildly around the forest, searching for Firestar, Lightningstar, _anyone_.

"I'm here."

She turned to see Roseleaf stepping delicately through the ferns, dew sparkling on her fur. Sunfire tried to move towards her mother, but she was tired, so tired, and she couldn't even balance for all the shaking. She tried to speak—

"W…what was…what h-happened…?" She'd experienced dreams from StarClan before, but none like _that_—if they had been dreams from StarClan.

Roseleaf reached her side, tenderly licking her cheek. "That was star-walking you went through," she explained, amber eyes filled with sympathy. "Experiencing a yet-to-come event, but seeing through the eyes, feeling it through the hearts, of others." She touched her nose to Sunfire's soothingly.

Sunfire was panting heavily, but not shaking quite as much. "Why?"

"You wanted dreams from StarClan; you received them. You have a special connection to us, Sunfire; star-walking is legendary among us. Very few have ever experienced it."

"But _why?"_

"So that when these events come to pass, you can remember, and perhaps feel more at peace, feel more sympathy."

A dim, weak frustration bubbled up inside Sunfire; why did all StarClan cats have to be so _cryptic? _Did they _like _talking in riddles, hiding true meanings? Why wouldn't any cat just come out and say it _plainly_—

She woke again, this time in the cavern. Still trembling slightly, and frustrated with her lack of answers, Sunfire gazed up through the crack in the cavern roof, hoping not too much time had passed. To her surprise, the moon was exactly where it had been when she had gone to sleep, but she felt as if moons had passed. She stood, found she was steady on her feet again, and padded out of the cave, not looking back at the Silverstone.

Emerging into the fresh, if bitingly cold, air, Sunfire padded back into the forest. Her shock had faded, leaving confusion in its place. She had felt other cats' emotions, had been them, but did not know _who _she had been. She recognized the falling-from-the-cliff scene as a dream she'd had before, but the other times she had been a sideline spectator, not the falling cat. Why had StarClan done that?

_So I can remember._

She huffed out a laugh, suddenly (oddly) finding StarClan's refusal to tell her anything straight out amusing. Perhaps it was the ludicrousness of it: instead of telling her things plainly so she could be prepared, they let her wallow through cryptic messages, let her blunder.

"Sunfire? What are you doing here?"

She looked up; it was Firestorm and his patrol. Her son peered curiously at her, as did Hailpaw, Morningcloud, and Quickriver. She shook her head to clear it.

"Looking for answers."

"Did you find any?" asked Firestorm, eyes glinting with amusement.

"No. Answers never come when you're looking for them." She sighed, arching her back in a long stretch. "Come on," she said. "Let's finish the patrol and try to get back by dawn."

_Remember._


	13. Lies Begin a War

**A/N: **Okay, on the off-chance that some people haven't given up waiting for me to update…_I'm ba-ack_…. As always, thank you for reviewing,** Olivia-Della-Robbia** and **Skybreeze**! Reviews make me happy. I sincerely apologize for taking so long to update; if anybody cares enough to want the real reasons my updates are coming so slowly, read my profile.

This chap title—and the chap—is based off this quote: "In war, truth is the first casualty." --_Aeschylus_

Let's see if I remember how to do this…

;-;-;-;

**Lies Begin a War**

"There she goes."

"So it's true Darkcloud's dead?"

"Must be. I wonder how…."

"_I _say she's the right one for the position. She may be young, but when you think about all she's done…she killed Nero, remember? She's of the line of Firestar, for sure."

"Too proud. Too impulsive. She'll make poor decisions for her Clan. _I _wouldn't appoint her as deputy."

Comments followed Sunfire like flies as she padded across the Gathering island. She wondered how news of her deputyship had spread so quickly; likely Dapplepaw had started spreading the word as soon as she stepped onto the island. Raising her head, she scanned the neutral ground, searching for Acornfur. If Mudstar didn't announce that Darkcloud had been killed by the RiverClan warrior, then _she _would. Her claws twitched out of their sheaths.

A seed of doubt suddenly sprouted in her mind. Thinking back to the border fight, she remembered how shocked Acornfur had looked after delivering the wicked slash. He might just have gotten caught up in the rush of sudden battle, might have hit Darkcloud much harder than he'd meant to. She'd done it herself in battles with the Tribe—dealt a blow that had been fatal, or nearly so, when she'd only intended to stun momentarily. She could not see the brown tom anywhere, and decided he must have been left behind; perhaps Ravenstar was anticipating trouble, and had chosen to leave the cat who would attract the most hostility at camp. Sniffing the air, she gathered a distinct fear-scent that seemed to come from only RiverClan. Examining them, she saw all of them were hunched, their muscles wired taut, as if bracing for a sudden storm.

Icestorm came up behind her. "Something's up. I can tell by the tilt of your head."

She sighed and sat down, wincing slightly at the coldness of the snow. She told him of her new doubts about Acornfur, feeling sheepish as she did so; she had been so certain that she had been right in labeling him a murderer, so ready to accuse him of cold-blooded killing before all four Clans…and Darkcloud's death was most likely an accident.

_You'd think I'd learn, _she thought, thinking back to when Shadowfur still haunted the forest, when the prophecy about shadow, ice, and fang and still hung over the Clans. She had leapt to the conclusion that "ice" had meant Icestorm, which had driven a temporary—but considerable—wedge between them.

She heard Mudstar yowling from the Great Tree; he was clearly wasting no time starting the Gathering. As the mass of cats turned as one to the towering willow, Mudstar raised his head.

"_I _will speak first," he announced, not even glancing at the other leaders. Sunfire noticed Ravenstar huddled on her branch, her gaze fixed on the ground. Did she know the accusation that was coming, and was bracing herself for it? _She _does_ look afraid…_

"…deputy has been appointed in ThunderClan." Sunfire turned her attention back to Mudstar, feeling a thrill of pride and satisfaction at his words. "Sunfire is our new deputy," he went on. Some congratulatory yowls began rising form the crowd, but Mudstar raised his voice over them immediately, shouting with all his might to make himself heard. "The reason," he called, "she is deputy is because Darkcloud was _murdered._ And by who?" He whipped around to look at Ravenstar. "A RiverClan tom by the name of Acornfur!"

Shocked murmurs rippled through the crowd. Sunfire squirmed slightly, unsure of whether to call Acornfur a murderer or not. _Remember the disbelief in his eyes…_

Ravenstar stepped forward, clinging to her branch tightly with her claws. "Darkcloud's death was an accident," she said, and Sunfire was surprised to hear how soft her voice was. There was no fight or fire at all; she sounded utterly worn down. She turned to look out over the sea of cats, and a sudden ferocity blazed in her eyes. "Haven't any of you ever done it? Struck too hard in a fight? When you meant to only scratch in order to startle away but, with the fire of battle in your blood, mistakenly hit too hard?" She sat down, her tail drooping, looking exhausted from her speech.

"Perhaps Darkcloud's death was an accident," Mudstar returned coldly, not seeming to care—or notice—Ravenstar's odd fatigue, "but there remains the fact that your warriors were trespassing on ThunderClan's land. What excuse is there for stealing our land? A couple of Gatherings ago, you were bragging about how well-fed your Clan is! You cannot need more land!"

Distant thunder rolled through the sky, and Sunfire suppressed a shiver; StarClan appeared to be disapproving of Mudstar's ferocity. Hickorystar and Reedstar exchanged glances, so far haven spoken not a word.

"A great amount of our land has been stolen by a…a group of rogues," said Ravenstar. As she hesitated, she flicked her ears and did not meet Mudstar's gaze. "We need to regain the space."

"So push back the rogues!" spat Firestorm, rearing up. "_We _haven't taken your land!" Sunfire observed the WindClan and ShadowClan warriors nodding, muttering amongst themselves. Ravenstar opened her mouth, grasping for words, when Softsteps spoke up.

"I was in the border fight when Darkcloud was killed," she called to Ravenstar, her voice ringing clear across the island. "Your warriors told our patrol that a _loner _had taken your land. Suddenly it's a whole pack of rogues?" Several ThunderClan cats yowled agreement, Sunfire among them: Acornfur may have been innocent, but Ravenstar was hiding something.

"The problems of RiverClan are _our _business and no other's!" yowled Ravenstar, her fur fluffed up, her back arching.

Surprisingly, the ShadowClan leader, Hickorystar, spoke up. "It's the business of other Clans when you begin taking their land without cause," he said, his amber eyes glinting. Sunfire, riled as she was, nodded agreement, though it was odd to hear a ShadowClan cat speak so; the marshland cats were notorious for stealing the territory of other Clans at the least provocation.

Apparently, other cats were thinking along the same lines, for a RiverClan she-cat spat, "That's rich, coming from ShadowClan!"

"When have _you _ever heeded boundary lines?" a second warrior added, flattening his ears.

Sunfire's blood pumped thickly through her veins; though the tension and building energy was exciting, and RiverClan was being infuriating, she felt the Gathering was getting out of hand.

At the second RiverClan warrior's words, ShadowClan broke into snarls; WindClan, thus far silent, began hissing as well. Some were siding with RiverClan, others with ShadowClan; others, including ThunderClan cats, hunched close to the ground, not knowing which Clan to defend. Thunder was rolling thick through the sky now, and lightning crackled hotly; scents of fear, anger, and anticipation cloyed the air.

Before any cat could strike another, hail began pelting down from the sky, icy pellets striking every cat on the island. Sunfire flinched as one of the balls struck her skull hard; the snarls of most cats turned from bitter hatred to fear as they realized what seemed to be StarClan's final warning. Reedstar, the only cat to have remained totally silent, rose on his branch.

"This Gathering is over, by the will of StarClan," he called, scarcely making himself heard over the clatter of hail and the continuing yowls of the cats. "We will meet next moon. WindClan, to me!" He vaulted down the massive willow and headed for the great root that led to the WindClan moors.

Sunfire squinted, wincing each time a frozen globe hit her. She turned to follow a fuming Mudstar, her own emotions raging: her blood was hot and her claws prickled due to the near battle, and she was livid at Ravenstar's obvious lies and faulty reasoning. Nearly every cat was babbling, unable to stop talking about what had happened. The hailstorm followed them off the island, and Sunfire heard little Dapplepaw yelping as the stones, which were growing in size, pelted her. Mudstar increased the pace to a near run, desiring either to try to escape the hail or burn off some of his anger, or both.

Flicking Icestorm with her tail, Sunfire dashed up to run side by side with Mudstar. His breath hissed through his clenched jaw, and his claws tore up chunks of snow, ice, and earth that flew into the faces of the cats behind him.

"Mudstar," she prompted, as he seemed not to notice her, "what are we going to do?"

He did not answer for some time, and Sunfire was about to repeat her question when he replied. "I will travel to the Silverstone and speak to StarClan. Ravenstar is lying, and I want to know why. We cannot fix this until we know the truth. If RiverClan refuses to come to reason, we will fight."

The brambles ringing the camp came into view, and Sunfire noticed with relief that the hail was lightening; her skin stung beneath her pelt. The cats on guard duty, Quickriver and Morningcloud, were pressed into the thorns, choosing pricking brambles over stinging hail.

An idea came to Sunfire. "We could talk to Pinefur," she said to Mudstar as he slowed to a walk. "She lives right by the RiverClan border, she might know what's going on."

"Pinefur?" Mudstar repeated, tilting his head in thought. "Maybe. It's a long journey—"

"Not so long," Sunfire countered. "About a half day's walk, shorter at a run. It could be worth it." That, and she wanted to see her friend.

"What might be worth it?" asked Morningcloud; she and Quickriver had not heard the rest, as the returning patrol had only just reached the top of the slope.

"Going to see Pinefur in her land," said Mudstar shortly, his temper still up.

"You don't need to," said Quickriver, holding out her tail to stop him from going down the slope. Mudstar stopped, confused. "She's here. With her kit."

;-;-;-;

**A/N: **Review, please. Constructive critisism is most welcome.


	14. Homecoming

**A/N: **Thanks again, everyone, for the reviews!

;-;-;-;

**Homecoming**

By dawn, a thin path had been beaten into the snow, the icy layers forced into submission by nervous, impatient paws. Chewing at her toes to loosen the compacted snow that had collected between them, Sunfire now sat at the foot of the slope, tail tip twitching, eyes fixed on Rootclaw's den. Rootclaw herself was just discernable beneath the branches of her fallen-tree den; further back, huddled into the shelter so deeply that they were blurry shadows, lay Pinefur and Woodsmoke.

The night before, Treeshadow had given the Clan as full a report as he could: "Pinefur's not ill, but her son has whitecough," he'd said. "Mostly, they're weak from hunger, especially the kit. They'll recover now that I've given them the proper herbs and that they have food and shelter." When asked why Pinefur had come, Treeshadow had shaken his head. "Treating them was more important than asking questions," he'd answered. "I'm just glad I was here and not at the Gathering."

Pinefur was awake now, and Rootclaw was giving her and Woodsmoke each another once-over before Pinefur spoke her piece. The weather had warmed up, warmer than it had been for several quarter-moons, and all the cats that remained in camp hovered around the Hightree, anticipating the Clan gathering. Many were whispering, some excitedly, some in confusion, and, in the case of those less welcoming to outsiders, with a thinly veiled wariness. As Sunfire scanned the camp, her eyes fell on Bracken, who sat at the far edge of camp, a silent golden figure, amber eyes curious and fixed on Rootclaw's den. As she watched him, Sunfire's belly tightened; though Bracken shone a bright gold against the snow, she could see the blackness that wrapped around him like a second pelt.

_He's got to leave. _But no cat, especially not one whom StarClan had declared held a purpose, would ever be driven out simply because the tense, too-wary deputy had a bad gut-feeling about him.

_Has to leave._

Movement from the fallen tree drew Sunfire's attention away from Bracken. Rootclaw slid out from beneath the branches and, seeing Sunfire, beckoned with her tail. A thrill of anticipation thrilling up her spine, Sunfire bounded over, lifting a lip at the uncomfortable feeling of the ice in her toes.

"She wants to talk," Rootclaw said as Sunfire reached her. "Not as rested as I'd have liked, but she wants to talk."

"And we want to hear," Sunfire added. "Shall I tell Mudstar?"

"I'll go. You help her walk; she'll be more comfortable with you helping her."

Nodding, Sunfire took a couple of steps into the den, ducking beneath the rotting branch-tips. The ground inside was covered with only a thin dusting of snow at the entrance; beyond that, old, dried moss and leaves carpeted the frozen dirt. In the far back, where it was warmest, Pinefur was hauling herself to her feet.

"Sunfire," she said, her voice rusty. "I'm so glad we made it here." She walked forward unsteadily.

"I'm not. For you to bring Woodsmoke over here in the dead of leaf-bare, there must be trouble." Pinefur said nothing, though the look she gave Sunfire spoke volumes. Her green eyes, usually bright and purposeful, were hollow, haunted. Sudden fear clenching her heart tightly, Sunfire swallowed and spoke, trying to sound normal. "Shall I carry Woodsmoke out?"

"No, he needs the warmth in here." Sunfire stepped aside as Pinefur pushed her way out of the den.

"You should be in the nursery with him. Rootclaw's den may be warm in the back, but the nursery is warmest," she said, stepping to Pinefur's side in case she stumbled.

"Don't you have kits? He may get them sick, and I'm causing enough trouble just being here." She headed for the base of the Hightree.

"Only Copperkit, and he's strong and healthy. As long as we keep you on one side of the nursery and Copperkit on the other, it'll be fine."

"We'll see." Pinefur sighed as she slumped at the foot of the Hightree. Settling beside her, Sunfire noticed the Clan had now assembled. Icestorm and Raintail sat the closest, lending silent support to both Sunfire and Pinefur.

Mudstar leapt onto the Hightree. Since it was pointless to summon the Clan, he spoke directly to Pinefur. "Alright, let's hear your story." His voice held gentleness and sympathy, but also the familiar nothing-but-business tone; Sunfire wondered if the former was forced.

Pinefur scanned the Clan, and Sunfire saw recognition in her eyes as she took in the faces of the cats who had sheltered her in past seasons. Nodding to herself, Pinefur spoke.

"A pair of foxes have pushed back the RiverClan border." She said something more, but the rush of surprised voices drowned her out; Sunfire exchanged glances with Mudstar. _Ravenstar's little secret..._Mudstar silenced the Clan with a wave of his tail, and Pinefur went on.

"It's a mated pair. They'll probably have cubs by newleaf."

The Clan remained silent this time, but many cats' tails began bristling, and the bitter scent of fear built slowly in the cold air.

In a flash, Sunfire remembered the she-fox that had tried to take Copperkit a couple of moons ago. _It's probably her._

Frozenstream finally broke the thick silence. "And after they pushed RiverClan back, they drove you out?"

Pinefur nodded. "Just a couple of days ago. I kept smelling them, and so I abandoned the nest I'd built and started moving constantly over my land, trying to confuse my scent trail. But they found me. I had to run. I'm not strong enough to fight them, not in leaf-bare, and…and they killed Briar." Her voice broke.

Sunfire's heart lurched. Seeing the lack of comprehension in her Clanmates' faces, she called out softly, "Her mate."

"I just got away with Woodsmoke," Pinefur pressed on, clearly not wanting to linger on her mate's death. "I could only think to come here."

"Why not go to RiverClan?" called Fogdrift. "Shelter with your old Clanmates?"

"I feel more comfortable here," Pinefur said, eyes cast down, tail twitching slightly. "I have lived here before, and I have not lived among RiverClan since I was a young apprentice. If I am not welcome," she added, looking up at Mudstar, "then of course I will leave."

"And where would you go?" said Sunfire. "Mudstar, she _must _stay." She met her leader's gaze. "If we push her away, where can she go? She has no other place."

"Her kit is sick," added Rootclaw. "and will only get worse without the shelter and medicine we have here. He will die if we send them away."

Sunfire tipped her head gratefully to Rootclaw for her support when Badgerclaw, one of the most prickly in the Clan, spoke up. "She saved Granitestone from the Tribe all those moons ago," he said, flicking his ears towards his only son. He looked directly at Pinefur, his green eyes lacking their usual prickly glint. "She will never lose my gratitude."

Pinefur looked at Granitestone, who sat at the head of the crowd. "StarClan above, I thought you looked familiar." Her eyes glimmered with sudden warmth and amusement.

Granitestone twisted his ears backwards and shuffled his paws. "I've heard the story," he said gruffly. "And…er…well, thank you." He ducked his head down, clearly not liking the limelight.

"What say you, Mudstar?" Sunfire interrupted. There would be time for thanks later—right now, only Mudstar's decision mattered.

Mudstar's tail flicked back and forth rapidly, his eyes cloudy with thought. After a stretching silence, he nodded. "Pinefur is as good as a ThunderClan warrior," he said. "She has fought alongside us, and when she has sheltered with us before, she has cared for herself, never expecting any cat to cater to her. And," he added, dipping his head towards Granitestone, "Without her, this fine warrior would not be with us. She stays." He slithered off the Hightree. "Sunfire, please see that she is settled."

"Wait!" called Softsteps. "What of the foxes? And RiverClan? What are we going to do about _that_?"

"I'm going to think on it now," said Mudstar shortly, heading for his den. Over his shoulder, he called again, "Get Pinefur settled, Sunfire."

Relief making her legs shaky, Sunfire turned to Pinefur, whose eyes were glowing.

"Welcome home."

;-;-;-;

Sunfire dreamed.

She stood in the very center of the camp. The rest of the clearing swarmed with warring cats; pairs after pair of clashing warriors, writhing and clawing, tumbled past her. Though she was sure that every cat must have been snarling, she was nearly deaf to the world, the usual roar of full battle merely a dim echo in her ears. She began to walk, as slowly as though trying to push through a snowdrift, though without the feeling of physical struggle. Dimly, she realized that the body did not feel like her own, especially the way her legs moved; in her dream, she walked with a slow, almost hesitant, small-steps gait, a stark contrast to her usual long, purposeful stride.

_Strange._

Her gaze fell upon a certain cat, and the rest of the world blurred into non-distinction; only that one cat stood out, a blazing star breaking through an overcast sky. Her pulse quickened, her lips curled back, her claws shot out of their sheaths. Here was her chance, her chance to avenge the death of her beloved.

Thinking quickly, she darted into a shady area just outside the camp, stepping over the ferns that had begun to unfurl now that newleaf had come. Concealing herself, she called out the cat's name, making her voice high and desperate. The cat whipped its head around, eyes ablaze, then leapt across the camp in smooth bounds, heeding her call.

It burst into the small shady spot, panting, looking around in confusion. With a grim determination, Sunfire exploded out of her hiding place, crashing into the cat with all her strength. Again, she noted dimly that something was not right; she had pushed off strangely, using a different ripple and flex of muscles to jump than she normally did.

The strange feeling faded as, in her dream, she pinned the cat down and, her throat suddenly tight, choked out: "You killed her! Her and the kits. Dead! You _killed them!_" Over and over she hissed those words, claws sinking into the other cat's flesh, until, finally, someone heard her and burst into the tiny shady spot, knocking her off of her quarry.

When Sunfire woke, shivering, she could not remember what the cat in her dreams—the one she had attacked—had looked like, nor what the cat who bowled her down had looked like. She knew only that the cat whose eyes she had seen through in the dream had not been her.

_Star-walking again. _She shuddered, gazed around the warrior's den; she must not have cried out or thrashed in her sleep, for no cat was disturbed. She peered through a gap in the roof of the den to see a small patch of Silverpelt glimmering overhead. _Who was I?_

No cat from StarClan answered her.

;-;-;-;

A quarter-moon after Pinefur's arrival, the mottled she-cat and her son had moved into the nursery. Woodsmoke had recovered from his illness, but did not like to leave his mother's side often; unused to so many cats, he padded around camp with a wary glint in his eyes, which were changing from kit-blue to amber. Copperkit, thrilled to at last have a playmate his own age, followed him around and chattered nonstop; Sunfire hoped that the friendliness of the reddish-brown kit would help Woodsmoke become more at ease with his new surroundings.

"I have to call Woodkit, now, though," Pinefur noted in a low voice, pausing in her wash for a moment. Woodsmoke—Woodkit—was sleeping. "He's a Clan cat now." She licked a forepaw a few more times, then said, "He doesn't much like it—having to change his name, I mean," she amended, glancing at Sunfire.

"Maybe Mudstar will name him Woodsmoke again when he becomes a warrior," said Sunfire. Pinefur's eyes glowed, pleased at Sunfire's certainty that Woodkit would become a Clan warrior.

"I'd like you to train him," Pinefur said quietly. "I know that ThunderClan has many skilled warriors, but I trust you to train him the best."

Sunfire lifted her chin, pride and delight to find herself so trusted sweeping through her. Still, she reminded Pinefur that it was Mudstar's decision.

Nightwhisker padded into the nursery then, snagging her long coat a bit on the thorns. She hardly looked like she was expecting kits at all, though Rootclaw estimated she would give birth in a moon; Nightwhisker's belly was barely round, though perhaps her long, fluffy pelt hid some of the swell.

"Hello," she said, shy and quiet as always. She nosed around her bedding a bit, then settled down with a content sigh. Abruptly she squirmed uncomfortably, a slight spasm running over her belly. After a moment, she stopped twitching, though she flicked her ears in discomfort.

"Kit moving inside?" Sunfire guessed, remembering how her own kits had stirred.

Nightwhisker nodded. "I think they're coming into the world sooner than Rootclaw said." She ran her tongue across her flank. "And though Rootclaw also said she thinks it's only one kit again, I'm sure there's two."

"Well, one, two, or seven, any kit of yours will be beautiful," said Pinefur sincerely. Nightwhisker ducked her head shyly, but looked pleased all the same. Sunfire felt some degree of comfort in the fact that future warriors and queens would always be brought into the Clan; kits were always some amount of happiness in dark times.

"Well, Mudstar wanted to talk to me some time today," she said, standing and stretching. "He's probably made a decision on what to do about RiverClan and the foxes." Pinefur's eyes darkened for a moment, but she blinked it away and nodded. Saying farewell, Sunfire slid out of the nursery and into the camp.

The wall of cold air was a shock after the blanket of sweet warmth in the nursery, but Sunfire thought that the air seemed less cold than it had of late. _Maybe newleaf's finally coming back. _Though this leaf-bare had arrived late, the bitter ice and snow had been gripping the forest for what seemed like far too long. Puffing up her fur a bit, Sunfire started for Mudstar's den when, without any warning or tell-tale noise, Firestorm came sprinting down the slope, his paws skidding over the icy rocks. Startled mews rose from Fogdrift and Jaywing, who were on guard duty, and the few cats who were in camp looked at the red-gold warrior in alarm.

Firestorm was gasping, his mouth gaping wide as he sucked in air. Bounding up to her son, Sunfire stopped cold when she saw blood dripping from his mouth—blood that, from the smell of it, was not be his own.

"There's trouble."

;-;-;-;


	15. Recovery

**A/N: **Thanks for reviews! I'm ashamed at how long it took me to write this. I really am. Sorry.

;-;-;-;

**Recovery**

The forest flashed by in shades of white and brown, snow and trees blending into one. Ahead, Firestorm's pelt glowed bright against the dull forest, a flash of golden-red darting around bare bushes and bounding over the snow as he led the way to the unnamed trouble. Quick on his heels, Sunfire followed, blood pounding, claws extended. Behind her ran Jaywing, Quickriver, and Rustystripe, the only warriors who could be spared; she had left Badgerclaw and Softsteps at camp to guard it. 

Ahead, she heard deep-throated snarls building, and the sour scent of fox crept into her nose. Firestorm put on an extra burst of speed, his paws a blur as he ran at full pelt towards the apparent fight. _Pinefur's foxes, _thought Sunfire, her pulse throbbing even harder in her throat. Running around a thick-trunked oak, Sunfire hissed.

Morningcloud crouched, trembling, her amber eyes stretched huge as a pair of foxes, scrawny but wiry-looking, circled her. The vixen and her mate had their fangs bared—Sunfire saw blood coating the vixen's fore-teeth—and were alternating snapping and jabbing with their paws. They were toying with her, Sunfire realized. Gathering her strength, Sunfire gave the battle cry and leaped for the foxes. 

She landed on the vixen's back, sinking her claws in deep; she saw Jaywing and Quickriver fly at the dog-fox. The vixen began to buck beneath her, twisting and writhing as she barked. Drawing her head back, Sunfire bit the vixen at the nape of her neck and clung, refusing to let go even as the vixen screeched and struggled to break free. Firestorm slashed at the vixen's feet, making her dance from paw to paw as she tried to bite him. 

Finally, after an especially fierce swipe from Firestorm, the vixen reared up on her hind legs, removing her paws from Firestorm's rage; seeing her chance, Sunfire dropped from the fox's back just as Firestorm launched himself at the vixen's exposed underside. Knocked flat, the vixen snarled, sending blood-tinged flecks of foam flying from her mouth. She scrambled to her feet, barked something at her mate in the guttural fox-tongue, and turned and fled. Tearing free of Jaywing and Quickriver, the dog-fox followed his mate, limping on one leg.

"They're heading for RiverClan land," Sunfire panted, heaving for breath.

"Shall we go and warn them?" rasped Jaywing, shaking blood from a cut on his cheek.

Sunfire shook her head. "I think the foxes have had enough fighting for today. I don't think they'll try anything for some time." _I hope._ Looking around the clearing, her heart jumped as she saw a bundle of gray-and-white fur laying at the base of a tree. Rustystripe stood over the bundle, guarding it. 

"It's Hailpaw," he said, his voice low. Hurrying over, Sunfire bent over the gray-speckled apprentice; a bite wound, viciously deep, marred the young tom's pelt. Two deep puncture wounds glistened with free-flowing blood just below his shoulders, one tooth mark on either side of his spine. Hailpaw was unconscious, his breathing horribly rough; his body twitched with every breath. 

Sunfire felt sick. Legs shaking, head swimming, she shook herself, tried to clear her mind. "Take him straight to Rootclaw. Be quick as you can—but be gentle with him." Rustystripe, who looked ill himself, nodded nonetheless, and, ever so gently, picked up Hailpaw in his jaws. The speckled tom was nearly too large for him to carry; since he was nearly nine moons old, Sunfire wondered that Rustystripe could even lift him.

"Wait!" said Firestorm, his voice sharp; looking over, Sunfire saw him looking at Morningcloud. "Where's Mudstar?" he demanded. Morningcloud just shook her head, still shaking.

"Mudstar was here?" said Sunfire, stepping over to her son.

Firestorm nodded. "He was leading the patrol. He sent me to get help, since Hailpaw had already been hurt." He scanned the area. "Mudstar?" he called, raising his voice. There was no reply. "Mudstar!"

"Wait!" hissed Sunfire; she had heard a low moan. "Mudstar?" she called quietly, heading towards the noise. The moan sounded again, and this time she pinpointed the noise; a dense bush behind the tree where Hailpaw had been. Her blood running cold, she padded over, bracing herself for another gruesome injury.

Her leader was stretched out beneath the bush; a bite wound showed clearly at his throat. A scarlet stain had spread around him. _It's a wonder he's still alive, _she thought. Mudstar's eyes flicked over to her, then went glassy. His shallow breathing stopped. Morningcloud, who had crept over, squeaked; taking a breath, Sunfire said, "It's okay. He's just losing a life. He'll wake up." Mudstar had only been leader for four seasons; he couldn't possibly be on his last life already. 

Total silence fell upon the woods. Though Sunfire was confident that Mudstar would open his eyes again, she was unnerved; she had never seen a leader lose a life--Lightningstar had been on his last life when she had been born. As the moments passed quietly by, Sunfire's gaze became riveted on Mudstar's throat; the bloody wound was closing slowly, mending itself. Before long, it was just a scar, bright pink and fresh. At the same moment, Mudstar gasped, his eyes flying open. He coughed heavily, then quieted, pushing himself into a sitting position. Relief washed over Sunfire; though she sometimes disagreed with Mudstar, she had no desire to see him die for good.

"Welcome back," she said, bowing her head. Mudstar returned the gesture, then spoke. "Foxes?" hewas out of breath still.

"They're gone," Sunfire told him. "Rustystripe took Hailpaw back to camp—he's hurt badly."

Mudstar nodded. "I saw Hailpaw get bitten." His voice was grim. "I can only hope Rootclaw can save him. A bite at the spine is serious." He stood. "Come. Return to camp."

As they ran, Sunfire took her place at Mudstar's shoulder, her eyes trained on the clean scar at his throat. It was the first time she had seen a leader die and recover, and a strange feeling filled her as she imagined the same thing happening to her one day.

;-;-;-;

"The fox bit him deeply—even though I stopped the bleeding, there's fairly serious muscle damage in both of his shoulders. I don't think the bite is deep enough to have scraped or cracked bone, though, which is as much luck as we can hope for." Rootclaw sighed, her amber eyes dark, her muscles wound taut. "It's going to be difficult keeping infection out, and the muscle as well as his flesh needs to mend before he can even walk again."

"How long will that take?" croaked Softsteps, her eyes fixed on her son. 

Rootclaw flicked her ears. "Walking? It depends on how well my herbs work, how quickly Hailpaw heals—every cat heals at a different pace—and how willing he is to just lay still and not put any weight on his leg. His training, obviously, will have to be postponed for a moon at the very least." Softsteps swallowed hard and nodded, her eyes cloudy; Sunfire stepped forward and gave her former apprentice a comforting lick. The pale tawny she-cat gave an extremely forced purr in return, then rose, headed for the warrior's den.

Still feeling nauseous at the sight of Hailpaw's wound, Sunfire asked Rootclaw, "Will he be crippled for life?"

"Again, it depends. If the muscle heals very well, he could be just as lively and quick as he was yesterday. If it doesn't…." she trailed off, cleared her throat, and started again. "If it doesn't, then he'll have difficulty running, and maybe walking, forever. I can't possibly say how efficient of a hunter he would be in that scenario, or if he could even be a warrior."

"But if he can't be a warrior, he could still serve the Clan," said Sunfire, her belly tight.

"Oh yes, I could take him on as my apprentice, if he was willing. It's been done before." Rootclaw stood and shook herself. "But let's wait and see how he does before we start ruling out the possibility of him becoming a warrior. He's a young, strong tom; he could easily heal perfectly and be on his paws before greenleaf." 

_Could, _thought Sunfire, bowing her head in farewell and leaving Rootclaw to her patient. _Could._

Icestorm padded over to her, and Sunfire welcomed his presence; it seemed like so long since she had been with him. Burying her face in his shoulder, she felt the rumble of his voice as he spoke. "I hope you're not blaming yourself for this."

She lifted her head. "Why would I? I wasn't even there when he got hurt; I know I couldn't possibly have done anything to prevent it." 

Icestorm nodded. "Morningcloud feels terrible. She won't go near Softsteps, Fogdrift, or Dapplepaw; I think she's afraid that they hate her now."

"Has she been to see Hailpaw?" A mentor should check in on her wounded apprentice, at the very least.

"Yeah. She didn't stay long, though; she doesn't like seeing him so weak and hurt. And she blames herself." 

"Where is she now?"

"In the den." Icestorm sighed softly, his breath stirring the fur on Sunfire's cheek as he did. "Come on," he said gently, "Let's have something to eat. You've had a rough day. Meet you by the ash?" Sunfire nodded, and walked to the young ash that grew by the warrior's den. Reaching it, she noticed that the moss from last greenleaf was visible; an area at least a couple of tail-lengths wide that was bare of all but the smallest clumps of snow surrounded the tree.

Icestorm joined her, two jays crammed in his jaws. Setting them down, he curled beside her and nudged one of the jays towards her. Accepting it with a short purr, Sunfire said, "The snow's melting." 

"It's been melting for a few days now. Everyone's been so busy that they haven't really noticed," replied Icestorm, spitting out a mouthful of feathers. One stuck to his tongue, and he scraped it off with a forepaw, to Sunfire's amusement. "The forest is finally recovering from leaf-bare. It seems like so long since I've seen grass."

"Probably because of all the trouble in the forest," said Sunfire, picking off a piece of meat and swallowing it whole. She spotted Flickerpool and Bracken heading for the fresh-kill pile together, walking so close that their pelts brushed and their tails nearly intertwined. "I don't like this," she muttered, taking another bite of bird. 

Following her gaze, Icestorm nudged her, looking irritated. "I don't mean to sound nasty, Sunfire, but I wish you'd stop painting Bracken to be such a vulture. He's very nice, he hunts for the Clan, he follows orders, he's respectful, he doesn't stir up any trouble—,"

"Seems too good to be true, doesn't it?" interrupted Sunfire, hoping Icestorm would catch the rhetorical tone. 

"He cares very deeply for Flickerpool," her mate continued, with only the barest hint of irritation in his deep voice. "And StarClan approves of his being here, at least for now."

"Have StarClan always been right? Some cats have secrets so well-hidden not even StarClan can see them." Her gaze trained on Bracken's neck as he padded away with Flickerpool, she continued, "I just have a terrible feeling about him, and you know the connection I have with StarClan, Icestorm. I'm not trying to say that I'm absolutely right, because I've certainly been wrong before, but I _know_ there's another side of him that's harmful."

Icestorm did not reply. Across the clearing, Bracken tenderly drew his tongue across Flickerpool's neck. 

_StarClan, what's going to happen? _Sunfire received no reply—not that she had really expected one. She sighed softly, her mind now stuck on Bracken and secrets and wounded apprentices and the living shadows that roamed the forest….Finishing off the jay, Sunfire stood and shook herself. Droplets of muddy water spun off of her belly fur; the ground was heavily wet with melted snow. She turned to Icestorm and opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a thin, pained wail rose from the nursery. 

Whipping around to face the tangle of brambles, bitter fear-scent blasted over Sunfire's scent glands. Before she could move, Badgerclaw blasted out of the nursery, his tail bushing out. 

"Badgerclaw!" Rootclaw was running towards him, her eyes calm despite the warrior's panic. "What's wrong?" her voice was low and soothing. 

Badgerclaw was panting, kneading the ground with his forepaws. "It's Nightwhisker," he gasped. A needle of fear pierced Sunfire, and she imagined Nightwhisker lying dead in the nursery—what else could scare Badgerclaw so much? _She was fine this morning—_

"Calm down, Badgerclaw. Breathe," said Rootclaw, authoritative yet gentle. "What's wrong with her?" A ring was forming around the pair of them, every cat wide-eyed and curious, some fearful. 

"It's her kits. They're coming."

Rootclaw seemed slightly stunned. "She's not due for a half-moon at least—"

"They're coming _now!_" snapped Badgerclaw, his fear-scent overpowering now. 

Rootclaw shook herself firmly, clearing away her disbelief. "I'm coming," she said crisply. "Tell her to keep calm, and then leave the nursery. I will be with her in a moment." She turned and disappeared into the nursery. 

Sunfire, along with the rest of the Clan, stood still, stunned by the sudden commotion. Abruptly excited murmurs broke out, and some cats pretended to move on to their own business while settling beside the nursery in order to not miss a moment of the unexpected excitement. Rootclaw bounded across the camp, her jaws crammed with herbs. With a rattle of the thorns, she vanished into the nursery.

Sunfire noticed Dapplepaw standing near her, her amber eyes wide and fixed on the nursery. The tortoiseshell apprentice turned towards her, and Sunfire saw how haggard the usually bright apprentice looked. She realized how strongly Hailpaw's injury had affected his sister, and she groped for appropriate words. "I'm sorry, Dapplepaw." 

She did not realize she had spoken at first. Dapplepaw flinched slightly, then nodded. "I know." After a beat, she added, "But he'll live. He's been saying for a moon now that he wants to be mentor to Nightwhisker's kit, and I keep saying that _I'm _going to mentor her kit." Her whiskers twitched in a ghost of a smile. "He won't give up his first chance of being a mentor so easily." With that, she padded away, looking a measure more cheerful. 

Listening to the panting now coming form nursery, mingled with Rootclaw's gently murmured instructions, Sunfire caught the scent of birth-blood filling the air. Staring after Dapplepaw, she marveled at the optimism of the apprentice. _Maybe I could learn from her._

She sighed, then remembered she still had to arrange the evening patrol. _Life always goes on. Wounded things recover in time, and the dead live on in StarClan. Always life._

;-;-;-;


End file.
